Scottish government makes it mandatory for pubs and restaurants to collect customer details

Restaurants and pubs in Scotland will have to collect customer details from Friday (14 August) under a new law.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the requirement would be placed on a “statutory footing” to ensure test and protect functioned as effectively as possible.

The move comes after covid-19 cases in an Aberdeen cluster rose to 110, with the outbreak linked to multiple pubs and restaurants in the city.

Sturgeon also said the Scottish government would issue statutory guidance related to indoor hospitality on Friday to ensure greater compliance with coronavirus measures.

She said businesses should ask people to pre-book tables to prevent queues, people shouldn’t stand at the bar to watch football, and there should be no background music to prevent shouting.

Sturgeon said while the new mandatory measures were “really restrictive”, they were necessary.

She said while the majority of hospitality businesses had complied with imposed coronavirus measures it was clear there were “some businesses where that hasn’t been the case”.