Reacting to the First Minister’s COVID-19 briefing, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:

“The First Minister’s announcement, advising against work Christmas parties, will have a major impact on Scotland’s events and hospitality sectors as these businesses are already reporting a surge of last-minute cancellations.

“Financial compensation to mitigate the fallout from this intervention must be made available immediately to businesses.

“We cannot see a repeat of March 2020 where the hospitality sector was essentially closed down without any financial support being put in place until weeks after the lockdown decision. That cannot be allowed to happen again.

“Scotland’s vaccine rollout is leading the UK and we urge everyone that can to get the vaccine and boosters when eligible.

“Businesses will continue to do everything at our disposal to prevent the spread of the virus and keep our customers, clients and employees safe.”