A day after England revealed its route out of lockdown, Scotland announced theirs. A similarly cautious approach, but with the country reverting back to a tier system, whilst England has aimed for no COVID measures at all by June.
Here’s what you need to know and how it affects Scottish fenestration.
The main points
For now, the message remains “stay at home”. Although some schools have reopened, everything else as of now remains very much the same. That includes the guidance for tradespeople working in homes. This is the current guidance on the Scotland Government website:
So for installers in Scotland, it’s a case of remaining at home. This will be a frustration to many in Scotland, including fabricators whose customers are unable to work, as they look over the border at other UK nations able to work.
Of the 94-page document the Scottish Government published, the infographic on page 14 is perhaps the most useful in terms of an overview:
For those in fenestration in Scotland, you’ll want to scan to the right-hand side and follow the steps. It is only at the very last stage of reopening that allowing non-essential work in people’s homes will be allowed to restart. And if you add up the three-week gaps between the stages, that will take us to the end of April. That’s another two months where installers won’t be able to work, and another two months where fabricators won’t be able to deliver to their own customers.
Each stage is also reliant on the situation in Scotland meeting the 6 tests set out by the WHO. So, like England, nothing is actually guaranteed.
Click here to read the full publication from the Scottish Government which goes into great detail about all other aspects of society and the economy.
Like England, it’s likely that there will be a swell of demand building up for installers. Assuming the same is happening in Scotland, installers and indeed the rest of the supply chain there should be able to look forward to a period of high demand once restrictions are lifted. So after learning the lessons from the first lockdown, companies should start preparing now to deal with the influx of business. Plan ahead, prepare for what may come your way and maximise the opportunities that present themselves.
We’re in the home straight with this. Let’s keep our heads, focus on the road ahead and look forward to better times as they’re not much further away now.
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