National lockdown ‘hugely disappointing’ for East Midlands businesses

Business leaders have reacted with dismay to the news that England will be placed in national lockdown from November 5 – and have called for the Government’s failing track and trace system to be fixed.

On Saturday evening (October 31), Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced four weeks of measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 virus. In fact, as with many other Government measures surrounding the pandemic, it had been leaked to the press earlier – this time late on Friday evening.

Under the new rules, schools, colleges and universities will remain open, but all non-essential retail will be forced to close – including pubs and restaurants. Gyms and golf courses will also close, and grassroots sports for all ages outside of school will be banned.

The Government has extended the furlough scheme to cover the national lockdown, but many fear this will not stem a tsunami of job losses in the run-up to Christmas.

Johnson said that the Government has been “humbled by nature”. However, the new rules have been welcomed less meekly by business leaders.

Scott Knowles, the chief executive of the East Midlands Chamber, said: “Confirmation that we are going into a second national lockdown is hugely disappointing news for businesses that have done everything in their power to adapt and operate safely, and is a clear signal of the Government’s failure to create the world-class test and trace system it had promised us.

“Business and market confidence have been hit hard by the unclear, stop-start approach taken by Government over the past eight months, with little end in sight.

“While we welcome the extension of the furlough scheme, this may not give sufficient confidence to employers to preserve jobs in the long term.

“The economy must not be allowed to grind to a halt as it did earlier this year. In sectors that can remain open, such as construction and manufacturing, it’s vital they receive full encouragement to do so. The messaging from Government in March was about full lockdowns, which meant many closed when perhaps they could have stayed open.

“What is clear is that this lockdown should not continue any longer than necessary. The Government must use this period to fix the ailing test and trace system once and for all in order to finally take the brakes off our economy.”

Paul Simpson, Derby City Council’s chief executive, said: “It’s no secret that Derby has been hard-hit by the pandemic. As a leading aerospace and manufacturing city, we’ve seen some devastating losses in Derby, but we’ve really pulled together as a city to mitigate this.

“We’ve never seen better partnership working than we are now through Derby’s Economic Recovery Task Force. Going into the tough national measures, we’re in a good position and can build upon the excellent work that’s already being done to rebuild and diversify our city’s economy.

“What we need from Government now is sufficient financial support to give our local businesses a fighting chance.”

However, the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council was more supportive of the measures. Kay Cutts said:”I support this national lockdown. We appreciate Nottinghamshire was just coming to terms with Tier 3 restrictions which still apply until Thursday 5 November.

“The measures we agreed took account of the information we had about the serious impact of COVID-19 in our communities and it was clear that strong measures were needed as the government has now announced are necessary across the country. We will make sure our residents and businesses get access to all the support they need throughout the lockdown measures.”