The Government’s decision to move to Plan B of COVID restrictions could cost up to £4 billion a month and knock 2 per cent of GDP
The findings from the think tank the Institute for Economic affairs warn that it could lead to a reintroduction of the furlough scheme to support jobs and business
“Even without a full national lockdown, the additional Covid restrictions apparently being considered in Whitehall could easily knock 2 per cent off GDP – costing the UK economy £4 billion a month – and force the taxpayer to stump up billions more to prevent a new wave of bankruptcies and job losses.
“This is on top of all the social costs and harms to people’s wellbeing and liberties, as well as the risk of further disruption to children’s education.
“Some will argue that this would be a fair price to pay to clamp down on Omicron. However, this would require much stronger evidence that the new variant is more deadly, not just more transmissible.
“This is a particularly high bar to clear in the UK, where most experts agree that the population has now acquired a high degree of immunity due to past infections and from the vaccine booster programme.”
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls, said:
“While the government clearly acknowledges that hospitality is safe and can continue to host celebrations in the lead up to Christmas, the measures announced today will significantly impact consumer confidence and be particularly devastating to city and town centre venues. As such, they risk devastating the hospitality sector amid its most important time of the year. We therefore desperately need support if we are to survive this latest set of restrictions and urge the government to stand behind our industry. That means full business rates relief, grants, rent protection and extended VAT reductions. Anything less would prove catastrophic.”
