Pubs warn new restrictions will damage their recovery from ‘devastating’ year
The pub industry has warned that the new restrictions outlined by the Prime Minister today will halt their recovery without additional government support.
The British Beer and Pub Association said the changes to social gatherings will have an “immediate cooling effect on public confidence to go out and visit our pubs.”
From Monday gatherings of more than six people in public or in private will be banned. Boris Johnson said the existing restrictions had become “complicated and confusing”, and that everyone should limit social contact.
It has been a devastating year for the industry after closing for four months, and it is still struggling to get back on its feet.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA said: “At such a delicate point in our recovery after a steady start this summer, as we head into Autumn and Winter where we expect trade to already slow down, this is very concerning.”
“With the announcements made today pubs and breweries will need much more support from the Government if they are to survive”, she said.
The industry body is calling for an extension on business rates relief as well as a continuation of the VAT cut to food and soft drinks. It has also joined calls for a sector-specific furlough extension to help the hospitality sector through the crisis.
These measures, along with a beer duty cut, are what the industry needs to survive and protect jobs, McClarkin said.
She added: “Without this support from Government, and a clear message that pubs remain open for business and that the public should support them, our sector is in for a very rough end to an already devastating year.”
Johnson also announced that hospitality venues will be legally required to take test and trace details of customers, with £1,000 fines for non-compliance.