UKHospitality COVID-19 Daily Update - 30 April
richardscamans • 1 May 2020
UKHospitality is the single voice for the hospitality industry.
UKHOSPITALITY
WESTMINSTER GOVERNMENT BRIEFING
>> * Today’s briefing was led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson,
>> joined by Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Valance.
>> * The PM said that we had now passed the peak and were on the
>> downward slope but urged continued caution. There has been a 16%
>> decrease in the number of people in hospital with COVID-19, and the
>> ‘R’ value – or rate of infection – is between 0.6-0.9 across
>> the country.
>> * He confirmed that next week he would set out a comprehensive plan
>> for exiting the lockdown will be set out next week, outlining:
>> getting children back to school; travel to work and safer
>> workplaces; steps to get the economy moving; strategy for continuing
>> to suppress infections through restart to avoid a second lockdown.
>> * A member of the public from Cornwall asked how tourism will be
>> managed in the coming weeks, as she is worried about an influx of
>> tourists to hot spots. Mr. Johnson said he sympathises with the
>> tourism industry who have been hard hit and mentioned the support
>> available through the Government business support schemes. He said
>> he wants to see the industry bounce back and said that the public
>> needs to be sensible to avoid a second spike due to visitors. The
>> plan to be announced next week will include further information.
>> * You can read the Prime Minister’s statement or watch the
>> full briefing here.
>>
>> SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT BRIEFING
>>
>> * The Scottish Government has announced a change in the advice on
>> travelling on public transport, recommending that face coverings
>> should be worn.
>> * The Scottish Government has today launched three new funds to
>> support businesses: a £34m hardship fund for newly self employed; a
>> £20m fund for tourism and hospitality and a £45m fund for
>> vulnerable SMEs
>> * The funds will be administered by local authorities and
>> enterprise agencies and will begin paying out in early May.
>> Applications can be made here www.FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot
>>
>> OTHER GOVERNMENT UPDATES
>>
>> * The CMA has launched a programme of work to investigate reports
>> of businesses failing to respect cancellation and refund rights
>> during the COVID-19 pandemic. These account for 4 out of 5
>> complaints received into the CMA Covid Taskforce and include
>> businesses refusing refunds, pressuring people to accept vouchers
>> for holiday accommodation, weddings and private events and these
>> will now be investigated.
>> * From tomorrow (1 May), PPE purchased by care homes, businesses,
>> charities and individuals to protect against COVID-19 will be
>> * HMRC has updated its guidance on temporary changes to the
>> destruction of spoilt beer, cider, wine or made-wine for brewers,
>> cider producers, wine makers and publicans.
>>
>> INDUSTRY UPDATES
>>
>> * Additional repatriation flights from New Zealand, Guyana
>>, and South Asia have been arranged to bring over 21,000 UK
>> nationals home by mid-May.
>> * The UN International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has
>> established a new COVID-19 Aviation Recovery Task Force to help
>> lead the recovery of the aviation sector following the pandemic.
>> * UKHospitality hosted a roundtable webinar chaired by Steve Double
>> MP today discussing a number of issues relating to post COVID-19
>> recovery in the tourism sector. Evidence from the roundtable will
>> feed in to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Hospitality and
>> Tourism’s ‘Pathways to Recovery’ inquiry. A short consultation
>> for the inquiry will close TOMORROW at 5pm. We are asking
>> hospitality and tourism businesses to help provide evidence to the
>> inquiry by answering a few questions, which can be found here on the
>> UKH APPG webpage .
>>
>> SITUATION UPDATE 30 APRIL 2020
>>
>> * To see the number of cases of COVID-19 in England and the UK
>> visit the UK COVID-19 dashboard - https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
>> * To see the number of cases globally see the World Health
>> Organisation dashboard - https://covid19.who.int/
Links:
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[1]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-ministers-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-30-april-2020
[2] https://www.youtube.com/user/Number10gov/videos
[3] http://www.findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/
[4]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies
[5]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/treasury-cut-taxes-to-reduce-ppe-costs
[6]
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/destroying-spoilt-beer-during-coronavirus-covid-19
[7]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/another-900-british-travellers-in-new-zealand-set-to-return-to-the-uk
[8]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charter-flight-from-guyana-for-stranded-british-nationals
[9]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20000-stranded-brits-returning-to-the-uk-from-south-asia-on-uk-charter-flights--2
[10]
https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/ICAO-Council-establishes-COVID19-Aviation-Recovery-Task-Force.aspx
[11] https://bit.ly/UKHAPPG
[12]
https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/resource/resmgr/2020/member_documents/cv19/Spanish_Reopening_TimeTable.jpg
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