THE day of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral will see major services across Scotland grind to a halt as a bank holiday is held to observe the occasion.
The Scottish Government has advised all councils that schools and nurseries should close, while local authority services such as bin collections in some areas will be affected.
Although retailers are not required to shut their doors on Monday September 19, many major supermarkets are opting to close.
Here we provide a rundown of information currently available on what will be impacted and what will be operating normally on the day of the funeral.
Education
The Scottish Government has issued guidance to all schools and council-run nurseries to close for the day of the funeral. Local authorities which have so far confirmed this will happen include Angus, Aberdeenshire, North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Fife Council, Glasgow City Council, North Lanarkshire, Moray, Stirling, Scottish Borders, Highland, Orkney and West Dunbartonshire.
East Ayrshire Council is moving a public holiday which was already planned for September 19 to the following day, meaning schools will be closed for two days.
Bin collections and other services
Some councils have confirmed bin collections will be affected on Monday, including Angus which states alternative arrangements will be advised as soon as possible. Aberdeenshire has rescheduled domestic bin collections for Friday. Dundee City Council said waste collections will be suspended on the day and take place from Tuesday to Saturday instead, while East Dunbartonshire has asked residents to leave bins due to be collected on Monday out on the following day instead.
Other local authorities have confirmed collections will be going ahead include East Ayrshire, Moray, Stirling and Highland.
Many councils are closing offices and buildings on the day, including Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Orkney, Stirling and Highland. Public toilets will also be closed in Angus and the Borders, while Glasgow Life – which runs museums, art galleries, libraries and sporting venues - is closing all of its venues on the day.
Highland Council said arrangements are being made to facilitate weddings, burials and cremations that have already been booked to take place on Monday.
Retailers
A raft of supermarkets and high street chains have announced closure plans for the day, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi Marks & Spencer and Primark. Asda said it will shut all its stores until 5pm on the day to allow employees to watch the funeral. Franchise stores at travel locations and in public service sites, such as hospitals, are expected to remain open.
Travel
ScotRail has said it will be running a normal timetable, while Avanti West Coast has also advised services will not be impacted. CalMac said all of its ferry services are due to operate as scheduled on Monday. Orkney Ferries services will continue to operate as normal.
Votes
The Queen’s funeral will impact on the counting of a vote by hundreds of islanders in the Outer Hebrides on a community buyout of the Bays of Harris estate, which was due to take place on September 14. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has announced it will now take place on September 21.
Events
A number of events have been affected, including the Yestival in Glasgow to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the independence referendum in 2014, which has been postponed allegedly due to public order concerns.
Orkney Council has advised the "Hoy on Hoy" event – a planned visit to Hoy by Sir Chris Hoy and formal opening of the Scapa Flow Museum will not be going ahead on Saturday 17 September, with further updates on it to be issued in due course,
Courts
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals service has issued a statement saying that no courts or tribunals will sit on the bank holiday and all of its buildings will be closed, adding: “Arrangements are being made for all sheriffdoms to hold custody courts on Saturday 17 September”.
