Greater Manchester Night Time economy advisor warns over 21st June uncertainty

“The current uncertainty is creating a wave of panic across the hospitality sector.” said Lord

The 21 June has been etched on the minds of operators as the date when they can finally trade normally unrestricted by capacity limits and social distancing measures, and any delays to this critical milestone will have severe consequences for the sector.

While the ringing of tills and clinking of pint glasses have been welcome sounds to the ears of bar owners, the scars of the pandemic will take years to heal. Having spent half a billion on measures to create safe environments, the vast majority are currently trading at a loss.

Add in the impending financial demands, and the mental anxiety many are facing is unimaginable. Landlords are circling and in most cases, demanding the rent arrears accrued over the last 15 months, and once the rent moratorium falls away at the end of June, we could see thousands of venues fall by the wayside if restrictions are not fully lifted.

Nightlife venues in particular deserve reassurance and the bank holiday weekend has been a stark reminder of the necessity of licensed nightclubs.

If they remain closed, we are bound to see the return of unregulated, unlicensed illegal mass gatherings, which quickly surge out of control and bring with them an increased likelihood of illegal substance misuse.

Given all they have been through in the past 18 months, the Government owes our young people safe, regulated and ventilated environments, where we can rest assured they are being properly cared for.

The next two weeks will be critical for our industry and we must not let ourselves get carried away in a blind panic without the data to justify continued restrictions. So long as hospitalisations remain low, we must continue on our path to normality, for the mental health of operators and society at large.”

Earlier Professor Adam Finn, from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said the reopening should be delayed to avoid imposing further lockdowns in the future

 

Professor Adam Finn, from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said that “in the end it will be worse economically as well as for public health if we end up having to shut down again”.

Asked about whether final restrictions should be eased on June 21, Professor Finn said: “I fear it may be a bad decision to go with it.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s vulnerability across the country. The idea that somehow the job is done, is wrong.

“We’ve still got a lot of people out there who’ve neither had this virus… nor yet been immunized, and that’s why we’re in a vulnerable position right now.”

He added: “The truth is that a more infectious virus, which is what it looks like we’ve got, will reach people who are vulnerable…and that will be a problem for everyone because in the end it will be worse economically as well as for public health if we end up having to shut down again.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, was responding to calls from some government scientists to delay further relaxation of restrictions on 21 June.

“Any delay in the roadmap would have a devastating effect on an already fragile hospitality sector. The latest market data shows a quarter of hospitality venues are still shut and those that are open cannot turn a profit because of the current restrictions – a delay would push many businesses closer to the cliff edge of failure, meaning more job losses,” she said.

She called for more financial support for the sector if the date slips beyond 21 June, saying businesses should have “much-needed reassurance after more than 15 months of closure and severely disrupted trading”.