From Tuesday 5th January, mainland Scotland is in a national lockdown where the message is to stay at home. You are not legally permitted to leave your home except for 'essential purposes'. 

This list has been provided by the Scottish Government and gives you the essential reasons why you may leave your home:

• for work or an activity associated with seeking employment, or to provide voluntary or charitable services, but only where that cannot be done from your home.
• for education including, school, college, university or other essential purposes connected with a course of study.
• for essential shopping, including essential shopping for a vulnerable person. You should use online shopping or shops and other services in your immediate area wherever you can. 
• to obtain or deposit money, where it is not possible to do so from home.
• for healthcare, including COVID-19 testing and vaccination.
• for childcare or support services for parents or expectant parents.
• for essential services, including services of a charitable or voluntary nature such as food banks, alcohol or drug support services.
• to access public services where it is not possible to do so, including from home:
  • services provided to victims (such as victims of crime),
  • social-care services,
  • accessing day care centres,
  • services provided by the Department for Work and Pensions,
  • services provided to victims (including victims of crime),
  • asylum and immigration services and interviews,
  • waste or recycling services,
• to provide care, assistance, support to or respite for a vulnerable person
• to provide or receive emergency assistance.
• to participate in or facilitate shared parenting.
• to visit a person in an extended household.
• to meet a legal obligation including satisfying bail conditions, to participate in legal proceedings, to comply with a court mandate in terms of sentence imposed or to register a birth.
• for attendance at court including a remote jury centre, an inquiry, a children’s hearing, tribunal proceedings or to resolve a dispute via Alternative Dispute Resolution.
• for essential animal welfare reasons, such as exercising or feeding a horse or going to a vet.
• local outdoor recreation, sport or exercise, walking, cycling, golf, or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area) as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households
• to attend a marriage ceremony or registration of a civil partnership.
• to attend a funeral or for compassionate reasons which relate to the end of a person’s life. This includes gatherings related to the scattering or interring of ashes, a stone setting ceremony and other similar commemorative events.   
• if you are a minister of religion or worship leader, for the purposes of leading an act of worship (broadcast or online), conducting a marriage or civil partnership ceremony or a funeral.
• to donate blood.
• for activities in connection with moving home (including viewing a property), or for activities in connection with the maintenance, purchase, sale, letting, or rental of residential property that the person owns or is otherwise responsible for.  Travelling for the purposes of undertaking essential work on a property other than your main residence should not be used as a pretext for a holiday.  You should not stay longer than for the length of time required to undertake the necessary work.
• to avoid injury, illness or to escape a risk of harm.
• for those involved in professional sports, for training, coaching or competing in an event.
• to visit a person receiving treatment in a hospital, staying in a hospice or care home, or to accompany a person to a medical appointment.
• to register or vote in a Scottish or UK Parliament, Local Government or overseas election or by-election, including on behalf of someone else by proxy
• to visit a person detained in prison, young offenders institute, remand centre, secure accommodation or other place of detention.

To read more from the Scottish Government about this new lockdown, click here

• Closer to a full lockdown of the type the UK went into at the end of March, with non-essential shops, hospitality and gyms all being forced to close
• Six people from up to two households can still meet outdoors
• Hospitality:
  • Alcohol on sale outdoors – closed
  • Alcohol on sale indoors – closed
  • Food for consumption on premises – closed (hotel exceptions on this)
  • Note: Takeaways permitted for alcohol and food as per existing arrangements
• Accommodation: essential only, no tourism
• Travel: no non-essential travel into or out of level 4
  • Exemptions for essential travel for work, education, providing care including childcare, shopping when you cannot get what you need locally. Find out more about the exemptions by clicking here.
• Avoid car sharing with people outside household/ extended household wherever possible
• No non essential use of public transport, face coverings essential
• Shopping is closed
• Close contact services (e.g. hairdressers, barbers, tailors and beauticians): closed
  • Mobile close contact services not permitted
• Public buildings (e.g. libraries): closed
• Events not permitted
• Worship: open – restricted numbers (20)
• Life events:
  • Weddings/civil partnerships – 15 person limit
  • Funerals – 20 person limit
  • Wakes permitted, subject to 20 person limit
• Formal childcare: open
• Informal childcare: permitted in line with household/ numbers restrictions, children only may enter other households
• Entertainment: closed
• Public services: Essential face-to-face services only (online where possible)

• No indoor meeting with other households
• Six people from two households can meet outdoors and in public places
• Hospitality:
  • Alcohol on sale outdoors – not permitted
  • Alcohol on sale indoors – not permitted
  • Food for consumption on premises - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Note: Takeaways permitted for alcohol and food as per existing arrangements
  • Cafes, pubs and restaurants are allowed to open until 6pm to serve food and non-alcoholic drinks.
• Accommodation: open but socialising and hospitality rules apply.
  • Guidance encourages non-essential (leisure/ tourism) use only by locals
  • Essential (e.g.work-related) use can continue
• No non-essential travel into or out of the level 3 area
  • Exemptions for essential travel for work, education, providing care including childcare, shopping when you cannot get what you need locally. Find out more about the exemptions by clicking here.
  • International quarantine regulations apply
• Avoid car sharing with people outside household/ extended household wherever possible
• Face coverings compulsory on public transport
• Shopping is open
• Close contact services (e.g. hairdressers, barbers, tailors and beauticians): open, but may be subject to additional protective measures
  • Mobile close contact services not permitted
• Public buildings (e.g. libraries): open
• Events not permitted
• Worship: open – restricted numbers (50)
• Life events:
  • Weddings/civil partnerships – 20 person limit
  • Funerals – 20 person limit
  • Wakes and receptions permitted, subject to 20 person limit
• Formal childcare: open
• Informal childcare: permitted in line with household/ numbers restrictions, children only may enter other households
• Entertainment: closed
• Public services: Essential face-to-face services only (online where possible)

• No indoor meeting with other households
• Six people from two households can meet outdoors and in hospitality settings
• Pubs, bars and restaurants permitted to sell alcohol indoors only with a main meal – and only until 8pm
• Hospitality:
  • Alcohol on sale outdoors - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Alcohol on sale indoors - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Food for consumption on premises - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Note: Takeaways permitted for alcohol and food as per existing arrangements
• Accommodation is open (hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan and camp sites) – socialising rules apply
• No non-essential travel to/from level 3 or higher areas in Scotland or rest of UK
  • Exemptions for essential travel for work, education, providing care including childcare, shopping when you cannot get what you need locally. Find out more about the exemptions by clicking here.
  • International quarantine rules apply
  • Otherwise unrestricted
• Avoid car sharing with people outside household/ extended household wherever possible
• Face coverings compulsory on public transport
• Shopping is open
• Close contact services (e.g. hairdressers, barbers, tailors and beauticians: open
  • Mobile close contact services not permitted
• Public buildings (e.g. libraries): open
• Events not permitted
  • Drive in events permitted
• Worship: open – restricted numbers (50)
• Life events:
  • Weddings/civil partnerships – 20 person limit
  • Funerals – 20 person limit
  • Wakes and receptions permitted, subject to 20 person limit
• Formal childcare: open
• Informal childcare: permitted in line with household/ numbers restrictions, children only may enter other households
• Entertainment: Cinemas, amusement arcades open
  • Following closed: soft play, funfairs, indoor bowling, theatres, snooker/pool halls, music venues, casinos, bingo halls, nightclubs and adult entertainment
• Public services: Open but reduced face-to-face services

Please note that for some areas in Level 1 there are still restrictions on indoor meeting. Please check the Scottish Government's latest guidance.

• Six people from two households can meet indoors and outdoors
• There may be additional restrictions at times preventing socialising at home
• There will be a curfew on hospitality meaning they must close at 10:30pm.
• Hospitality:
  • Alcohol on sale outdoors - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Alcohol on sale indoors - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Food for consumption on premises - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Note: Takeaways permitted for alcohol and food as per existing arrangements
• Accommodation is open (hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan and camp sites) – socialising rules apply
• No non-essential travel to/from level 3 or higher areas in Scotland or rest of UK
  • Exemptions for essential travel for work, education, providing care including childcare, shopping when you cannot get what you need locally. Find out more about the exemptions by clicking here.
  • International quarantine rules apply
  • Otherwise unrestricted
• Avoid car sharing with people outside household/ extended household wherever possible
• Face coverings compulsory on public transport
• Shopping is open
• Close contact services (e.g. hairdressers, barbers, tailors and beauticians: open
  • Mobile close contact services permitted
• Public buildings (e.g. libraries): open
• Outdoor events permitted with restrictions
• Worship: open restricted numbers (50)
• Life events:
  • Weddings/civil partnerships – 20 person limit
  • Funerals – 20 person limit
  • Wakes and receptions permitted, subject to 20 person limit
• Formal childcare: open
• Informal childcare: permitted in line with household/ numbers restrictions (follow the guidance on children and socialising)
• Entertainment: all open (bar nightclubs and adult entertainment): Cinemas, amusement arcades, soft play, funfairs, indoor bowling, theatres, snooker/pool halls, music venues, casinos, bingo halls open
• Public services: open

• Indoor meetings allowed – maximum eight people from three households
• Fifteen people from five households can meet outdoors
• Hospitality:
  • Alcohol on sale outdoors - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Alcohol on sale indoors - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Food for consumption on premises - Permitted – time restrictions may apply
  • Note: Takeaways permitted for alcohol and food as per existing arrangements
• Accommodation is open (hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan and camp sites) – socialising rules apply
• No non-essential travel to/from level 3 or higher areas in Scotland or rest of UK
  • Exemptions for essential travel for work, education, providing care including childcare, shopping when you cannot get what you need locally. Find out more about the exemptions by clicking here.
  • International quarantine rules apply
  • Otherwise unrestricted
• Avoid car sharing with people outside household/ extended household wherever possible
• Face coverings compulsory on public transport
• Shopping is open
• Close contact services (e.g. hairdressers, barbers, tailors and beauticians: open
  • Mobile close contact services permitted
• Public buildings (e.g. libraries): open
• Outdoor events permitted
• Worship: open restricted numbers (50)
• Life events:
  • Weddings/civil partnerships – 50 person limit
  • Funerals – 50 person limit
  • Wakes and receptions permitted, subject to 50 person limit
• Formal childcare: open
• Informal childcare: permitted in line with household/ numbers restrictions (follow the guidance on children and socialising)
• Entertainment: all open (bar nightclubs and adult entertainment): Cinemas, amusement arcades, soft play, funfairs, indoor bowling, theatres, snooker/pool halls, music venues, casinos, bingo halls open
• Public services: open