We are calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide support to the cleaning industry who have been adversely impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry has been decimated through legislated client closures, Scottish Government guidelines restricting business activities and changes to the Tier system which now prohibits domestic cleaning at Tier 4 in all but a few essential exceptions with no targeted financial support.

Both members and non-members of the trade association for domestic cleaners in the UK, The Domestic Cleaning Business Network have individually contacted local councillors, MSPs and Business Gateway as well as directly to the Scottish Government and Cabinet ministers to both clarify the changes in legislation and to request that financial support is made specifically to the cleaning industry in Scotland.

Letters, emails, and phone calls have been made and then escalated on our behalf, yet to date, we have been refused specific funding or access to the Strategic Business Framework Funding as the industry is not recognised as either being deemed essential or part of the supply chain to those businesses prohibited by law to open under the tiered restriction levels. Many cleaning businesses operate a commercial service alongside their domestic cleaning offering and provide services to the hospitality, retail and other workplaces and these industries have predominantly been closed throughout the pandemic except in limited circumstances. At each request, the affected cleaning service providers have been directed to the SEIS funding or discretionary funding which is not acceptable or the businesses themselves do not meet the criteria. Whilst furlough funding has been provided to many businesses, this does not consider the overheads for insurance, premises, legal and accounting fees, pensions, and national insurance contributions or rent. Also, many of these directors of businesses take their salary through dividends and therefore are not eligible for furlough support. Many of the businesses in this industry operate from non-business rateable premises and therefore did not benefit from the Small Business Support Grant.

When directed to discretionary funding, this is allocated by local authorities and the criteria vary from region to region as do the payments and this is not specifically targeted towards the cleaning industry.

The announcement on 23rd February 2021 that the Tier 4 restrictions which prohibit domestic cleaning in all, but limited circumstances is likely to be in effect until the 26th April 2021 now puts even further financial strain on this already damaged industry and there is still no targeted support in place.

The cleaning industry has nationally been restricted from the majority of business activities for over 8 weeks and faces a further 8 weeks of severely reduced income with no promise of a date to return to work in even a limited capacity. Cleaning businesses throughout Scotland are now in an untenable position where job losses and business closures are inevitable. There has been no targeted funding for an industry that has been excluded from Strategic Business Framework Funding as the industry is not recognised as either being deemed essential or part of the supply chain to those businesses prohibited by law to open under the tiered restriction levels. In addition, the industry has subsequently been restricted from operating in domestic environments with a few limited exceptions yet because the industry has not been legally ordered to closed in legislation it is not entitled to funding.

Throughout the industry, multitudes of applications have been made for discretionary funding, but this is frequently being rejected by individual Local Authorities or the criteria excludes the businesses from even applying in the first instance and this has been the last chance for many in our industry. Some funding is still yet to be allocated as the discretionary grants are not yet closed, but every day that these businesses remain open they are incurring overhead costs for insurance, premises, legal and accounting fees, web hosting, telecom charges, pensions, and national insurance contributions or rent with no guarantee that grant funding will be allocated.

Requests for support from MSP’s are then met with directions to these same discretionary funding or to apply for Universal Credit.

The cleaning services market is a credible and viable industry, and we are turning away enquiries for our services every day in line with the current restrictions. Cleaners have been thanked and praised at the Government level and as our client base return to work and restrictions are lifted, cleaning in a domestic and work environment will be vitally important to help reduce the spread of the virus and any future variants. The cleaning industry is professional. As an industry, we have invested heavily in enhanced infection control training, professional virucidal cleaning products and personal protective equipment to enable safe operating procedures and to help suppress the spread of the virus, yet we are not allowed to work yet are not receiving recompense for this.

For the industry to be able to support the recovery of the economy and support businesses to reopen safely with enhanced hygiene and disinfecting procedures as set out in Scottish Government guidelines, the industry urgently needs access to financial support or to have the changes to Tier 4 restrictions regarding working in people’s homes revoked to previous guidance so that we can resume income-generating activities to be more self-sufficient. Failure to action either of these options will result in many more cleaning businesses closing and subsequent job losses throughout the economy as well as hampering the reopening of other businesses throughout Scotland.

As an industry, we want to understand why, when cleaning is vitally important to help reduce the spread and suppress the virus that we have been restricted in our ability to contribute to this cause.

We want to understand why Scotland is the only UK nation to restrict domestic cleaning activities as this has not been the case throughout the rest of the UK even at a National Lockdown level.

Why were the guidelines changed in late December 2020 to prohibit domestic cleaning in people’s homes at Tier 4 when it was previously permitted?

The industry also wants to know why specific funding has been allocated to mobile close contact services providing hair cuts and cosmetic services in peoples homes, yet a mobile cleaner is not entitled to specific funding and needs to rely on varying amounts from Local Authorities.

Finally, we want to know why cleaning service providers are not seen as a part of the supply chain to the hospitality, retail and other closed industries and has been rejected from accessing any of the Strategic Framework Business Funding?