Prime Minister unveils how the UK will unlock lockdown

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined his “roadmap” to the great unlocking of the UK economy.

Speaking this afternoon in the House of Commons, the PM stated that there was “no credible route to a zero Covid Britain” and as such “we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well being, and the life chances of our children.

According to the “cautious” plan, schools in England will reopen on 8 March and people will be allowed to meet one other person from outside their household for outdoor recreation. This will be followed by further relaxations from 29 March including two households or up to six people being allowed to meet outside and the end of people being legally required to stay at home.

The unlocking of lockdown will happen in phases and be dependent on four conditions including the continued successful deployment of the vaccine, evidence the vaccine programme is reducing deaths and hospitalisations, no risk of infection rates surging and that any new variants do not change the risk level.

According to Johnson’s latest parliamentary address which will be followed by a news conference at 7pm, schools will open, with outdoor after school sports and activities allowed from 8 March. On 29 March outdoor gatherings will be allowed between two households and organised adult and children’s sport will be allowed.

Johnson outlined that there will be at least five weeks between each step and that in step two which will be no earlier than the 12 April, non essential retail as well as leisure facilities and gyms, holiday lets all reopening. Pubs and restaurants will also reopen for outside dining with no curfews, as will zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres.

The third step is currently scheduled for 17 May, which will enable the lifting on outdoor meeting restrictions – subject to a limit of 30 people. In addition you will be able to meet friends and family indoors (subject to the rule of six) and pubs and restaurants will start to serve indoors. At this point hotels, cinemas and venues such as theatres and stadiums will also open.

The final stage of the unlocking will happen no earlier than 21 June, at which point the Government will look to “remove all legal limits on social contact”.

The Prime Minister added that “our journey to normality will be subject to resolving a number of key questions” via four reviews:

  1. Will look at how long we need to maintain social distancing and facemasks
  2. The resumption of international travel – with a report due by 12 April
  3. Consideration of Covid status certificates to support venues opening safely but mindful of concerns around exclusion, discrimination and privacy
  4. Look at major events

The Prime Minister added that throughout the unlocking the country will benefit from the combined protection of the vaccine programme and continued expansion of rapid testing

Johnson also explained that the Government would not “pull the rug out” from under businesses that are utilising its support schemes “for the duration of the pandemic”. Promising to protect job and livelihoods across the country and that the Chancellor will set out further details in next Wednesday’s Budget.

Despite this there was no ruling out reimposing local and regional restrictions, but a hope from the Prime Minister that these measures to unlock lockdown become “irreversible”.

He ended by saying: “A wretched year will give way to a spring and a summer that will be very different and incomparably better than the picture we see around us today!”

Reacting to the PM’s announcement, Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester said: “I extend an open invitation to the Government to visit the North, in particular the most working class areas of Greater Manchester which rely on their local, traditional pubs and social clubs for a sense of community and to stave off isolation and loneliness.

Sacha Lord

“The vast majority of these pubs do not have beer gardens, a luxury only reserved for middle class areas who have the space and financial capabilities. It is, once again, the working class who are hardest hit by the decisions coming from Westminster during this pandemic.

“Secondly, for the operators across the UK who can trade outdoors, breaking even is not a possibility here. They cannot pay rents, rates and bills or afford to take staff off furlough if they are only serving to 10% capacity. Many will simply choose not to reopen.

“With ‘data not dates’ being touted as the reasoning behind decisions, we see no reason why indoor hospitality cannot reopen at the same time as non-essential retail. The hospitality sector has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on ensuring venues are COVID secure and we still have no data to confirm they are a high risk area of transmission. I see no justification for the delay in reopening.

“Lastly, we need urgent clarity on the financial support operators will have access to, and cannot afford to wait until the Chancellor’s Budget is announced in 10 days.

“Asking business owners to wait in limbo to find out if they can financially survive and afford to keep their livelihoods will be terrifying and have huge implications on mental health, stress and anxiety for owners and their employees.”

Sacha Lord is one of 60+ speakers at the Invest North virtual conference next month, alongside Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, four Northern metro-mayors, Manchester United’s Collette Roche, The Hut Group founder Matt Moulding, Urban Splash co-founder Tom Bloxham and many more. Find out more and book your tickets at investnorth.uk/agenda

Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “Businesses will welcome today’s announcement which goes some way to giving them the reassurance and clarity they need to enable them to plan ahead after months of restrictions and uncertainty. We look forward to further details in the coming weeks, including the Budget next week, to fully understand the process of reopening.

“The successful roll-out of the vaccine programme has brought a much needed sense of optimism in what has been a dismal winter. We must aim for the same level of efficiency and collaboration for our testing and track and trace system to given businesses and customers confidence that we can gradually reopen the economy safely and consistently.

“We very much welcome the phased reopening our schools and further education facilities and we will be looking for further commitment from the Government to enable an unprecedented catch up programme for school children and young people who have felt the full brunt of the pandemic.”

He added: “Considerable challenges remain for many industries in the weeks and months ahead. Recapitalising businesses, particularly those directly impacted by forced closures or trading below break even, will require a concerted effort between the private and public sectors to ensure viable businesses can genuinely rebuild and, in the process, create jobs and sustainable growth and we will be pressing the Government for more clarity on the type and length of financial support measures for those businesses still unable to operate at full capacity in the coming months.”

Ian Watson, chief executive of Skelmersdale-based retailer Hotter Shoes, the UK’s biggest footwear manufacturer, said: “It’s good to see a route map for the reopening of non-essential retail, however, I worry it is still lacking in confirmed dates and reliant on many ifs and buts.

Hotter Shoes chief executive Ian Watson

“Hotter was lucky to pre-empt the downturn of the high street early on in the pandemic enabling us to shift online and, as such, we saw an increase in online sales for 2020 putting us in a good position to weather the storm.

“However, we still have a substantial store portfolio across the UK and like all in retail, urgently need to understand the confirmed dates and criteria we are working to, not only so that we can prepare the business internally, but in order to care for our staff and our suppliers effectively. Our retail staff have been in limbo for the majority of the past 12 months, and now need clarity on when they will be returning to work.”

He added: “I would also like to see further discussion on the reasoning behind the opening of supermarkets, who have been allowed to continue trading in clothing, footwear and other non-essential products, and the delays in reopening other retailers who have spent thousands on COVID safe measures.

“We need to ensure a level playing field across the sector, where high street stores and independents who have been the worst hit during this pandemic, are given the same opportunities to trade and survive as larger stores.”

Damian Waters, CBI North West director, said: “The Prime Minister’s roadmap offers hope that the country can get back to business in the coming months.

“The roadmap is a good starting point to the hard yards ahead and caution is rightly the watchword. Businesses in the North West back the step-by-step approach to re-opening and an end to damaging stop-start restrictions. And getting children back into the classroom first is as much a priority for business as it is for families across the country.

Damian Waters

“We now need to turn this roadmap into genuine economic momentum. The Budget is the second half of this announcement – extending business support in parallel to restrictions will give firms a bridge to the other side.

“This is particularly needed for sectors who will have to wait for up to three months to re-open and have an anxious 10 days ahead before the Budget.

“Meanwhile businesses are committed to working with government to refresh practical guidance for firms and to fast track the roll out of tests in workplaces in the months ahead.

“With good news coming every day on the vaccines, the roadmap offers a pragmatic and safe route out of lockdown in England. North West businesses will play their full part in doing so with public health in mind and the confidence to kickstart a recovery.”

In a joint statement, the local authority leaders, Acting Mayor of Liverpool, and Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “After the huge sacrifices of the last 12 months, we are sure that everyone will breathe a huge sigh of relief that light is beginning to appear at the end of a very dark tunnel.

“However, the threat from coronavirus remains very real and we still have many weeks of restrictions ahead of us, so everyone should continue to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.

“Given the need for continued restrictions it is vital that the Government come forward with a further package of financial support including further help for businesses that will be forced to remain closed for some months, additional support for workers who need to self-isolate, and a scheme to help the three million self-employed who have been excluded from any form of help at all for the past year.”

Adrian Ellis, chair of the Manchester Hotelier’s Association, said: “The roadmap is generally very positive with clear guidelines and timescales announced today.

“Whilst hospitality wants to open as soon as possible, we respect the need for careful caution and, of course, none of us want to implicate a return to further lockdowns later this year.

“I am extremely pleased to hear that we are not returning to tiers and that the curfew and ‘meals with drinks’ restrictions will be lifted.

“All parts of our business will be operational from 17th May, which is a date to work towards and the strategy outlined today we hope will provide confidence for guests to start booking stays and encourage the much needed resurgence of business.”

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