Music ban in pubs and restaurants to be lifted this weekend

The ban has been active since August 2020 as measures were put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

10th Dec 2020

A ban on pubs and restaurants playing background music is set to be lifted from Saturday.

Companies within the hospitality industry will be tasked with finding a suitable level of background sound that won’t lead to raised voices or people having to lean closer to hear one another.

The music restriction has been active since August 2020 as measures were put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Scottish Government announced the new guidance in a statement released on Thursday.

It said: “An expert advisory group was established to look at how low level background sound might be managed in a Covid safe manner that did not interfere with speech intelligibility or cause increased vocal effort.

“The advisory group, comprising independent and industry acoustic experts, government and environmental health officials, and trade representatives, has developed guidance on how this can be achieved. “

That guidance includes ensuring that there are no competing audio sources in the same space, ensuring staff are fully briefed on acceptable levels and introducing signs encouraging customers to avoid raised voices or singing.

The key aims are to ensure no one needs to significantly raise their voice to communicate and that all staff and customers can communicate with each other while maintaining social distancing.