UK Hospitality Update
richardscamans • 10 September 2020
Important update mainly for England
The Prime Minister’s address today announcing new measures put extra
responsibilities on hospitality venues and limits group sizes both
indoors and out. The PM's statement can be found here. This comes on
the heels of Matt Hancock’s Bolton lockdown announcement, which
signalled a stronger stance for hospitality with tougher restrictions in
place during local lockdowns. UKHospitality’s reaction to that
announcement can be found here.
The new measures
* From Monday 14 September it will not be possible to meet with people
from other households socially in groups of more than six. This will
apply indoors and outdoors, including in private homes and places such
as pubs, restaurants, cafes and public outdoor spaces. Education,
weddings, funerals, organised team sports and work settings remain
unaffected. A full list of exemptions is due to be published before the
law changes on Monday.
* Businesses will have a clear duty to support NHS Test and Trace.
From Friday 18 September, it will be mandatory for certain businesses to
have a system to collect NHS Test and Trace data, which must be kept for
21 days.
* The announcement on the new measures can be found here .
The Prime Minister’s statement represents a further shift towards the
need for hospitality businesses to act to protect public health. Despite
hospitality businesses having invested greatly to make their premises
covid-secure and have diligently followed Government measures, we must
now redouble efforts, in the interest of customers and staff, and to
minimise the risk of further lockdowns.
While it seems a lot of the onus has been placed on businesses, the PM
also cited that the responsibility of individuals was equally important.
Consequences of breaking the law
It was announced that people who ignore police could be fined £100 -
doubling with each offence to a maximum of £3,200. Details on fines for
businesses or how the law will be enforced are still unclear and we
expect more on this from Government prior to the law coming in to force
on Monday.
UKHospitality has called for any fines charged against hospitality
venues for breaching Covid-secure requirements to be proportionate and
pertain to factors wholly under the control of the venue.
What will happen to plans for larger gatherings?
Mr Johnson said that a later announcement will be made regarding a
review of other types of gatherings, such as business conferences, and
we have called upon Government to ensure that any such announcement also
includes the roadmap for a return to trade for nightclubs, for which we
have long been asking.
Support
In addition, earlier today the Chief Secretary to the Treasury made a
statement in the House of Commons, announcing grants for forcibly closed
venues and criteria for furlough extension considerations. This included
a £1,000 grant for three weeks of enforced closures on venues with a
rateable value of £51k or less, or £1,550 for properties with a higher
rateable value.
Again, UKHospitality has called for more detail in order to properly
assess the benefit, and clarity as to whether businesses which stay open
for takeaways would be eligible for the grants.
Furlough
The Chief Secretary said three questions remain unanswered in terms of
targeted support. Since the pandemic broke, it has become inarguably
clear that hospitality is justifiably front of the queue for inclusion,
and our supply chain benefits from our recovery. UKHospitality has
acknowledged that employment support cannot be open-ended but, based on
the rate of recovery of the sector thus far, we have called for a
potential winding down at the end of Q1 2021.
UKHospitality will review the detail as it is published by Government
and will seek clarity on any areas of uncertainly.
Rest assured that UKHospitality will continue to seek adequate support
to help hospitality through his challenging time.
We will be updating our FAQs [8]as we get more answers. If you do have
any questions on the guidance, please email our dedicated inbox
cv19@ukhospitality.org.uk.
Best wishes
The UKHospitality Team
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