CHEERS: ‘Click-and-collect’ pints allowed during lockdown
“Click-and-collect” and phone orders of alcohol will be allowed from pubs and microbreweries during England’s second lockdown.
Conservative MP Richard Holden tweeted that takeaway orders will be allowed even as pubs and restaurants close in new restrictions.
“Delighted to be able to confirm – “Click-and-collect” & phone orders of alcohol will now be allowed from pubs and microbreweries during lockdown. This will be a massive help for a lot of community pubs and small local brewers across #NorthWestDurham“, he said.
The new restrictions, which will come into force on Thursday, had said nowhere will be allowed to serve alcohol to takeaway.
But earlier today a loophole was found to allow people to order takeaway alcohol.
In the latest legislation presented to Parliament punters will be able to pre-order over the phone, internet or post, was found.
It will be a lifeline for many of England’s struggling pubs and restaurants who have been forced to close during the second national lockdown.
The hospitality industry warned a return to selling takeaway food and non-alcoholic drinks would be a death knell for an already struggling sector.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) warned this weekend that the new restrictions mean one in four pubs – approximately 12,000 sites – are likely to permanently close.
In response to the loophole, BBPA boss Emma McClarkin said: “Takeaway alcohol from pubs if it is pre-ordered and customers don’t enter the premises is movement, but still not anywhere near enough. Supermarkets and off-licences can still sell alcohol, so this is grossly unfair on pubs with off-licences.”
“It remains the case that to help pubs and brewers survive, and to stop up to 7.5 million pints from being wasted, the Government needs to give pubs the same ability to sell off-license alcohol as it did in the first lockdown.”
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was contacted for comment.