COVID Update 54

Your Hinckley BID team are well aware of the damage to most of our businesses this further lockdown will cause – but as during the first lockdown, we will be on hand to help with any issues and queries to ensure that all of our businesses receive the latest factual information and the support to which they are entitled.

The situation as of now is that The Prime Minister has announced that everyone must stay at home from Thursday, and may leave only for a limited set of reasons. These include:

• For education;
• For work, if you cannot work from home;
• For exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household, support bubble or on your own with one person from another household;
• For all medical reasons, appointments and to escape injury or harm;
• To shop for food and essentials;
• And to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer.
  

Non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will be closed. Click and collect services can continue and essential shops, including supermarkets, will remain open. Pubs, bars, restaurants must close, except for takeaway and delivery services.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, known as the furlough scheme, will remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. 



Guidance on the new measures is available here.

Guidance on how this affects Businesses and Venues can be found here.

To reduce social contact, the Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close. These include:

• all non-essential retail, including, but not limited to clothing and electronics stores, vehicle showrooms, travel agents, betting shops, auction houses, tailors, car washes, tobacco and vape shops.
• indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, leisure centres and gyms, sports facilities including swimming pools, golf courses and driving ranges, dance studios, stables and riding centres, soft play facilities, climbing walls and climbing centres, archery and shooting ranges, water and theme parks,
• entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, adult gaming centres and arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, concert halls, zoos and other animal attractions, botanical gardens;
• personal care facilities such as hair, beauty and nail salons, tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services, non-medical acupuncture, and tanning salons.

Food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services can remain open. Essential retail should follow COVID-secure guidelines to protect customers, visitors and workers.

Non-essential retail can remain open for delivery to customers and click-and-collect.

Playgrounds can remain open.

Hospitality venues like restaurants, bars and pubs must close, but can still provide takeaway and delivery services. However, takeaway of alcohol will not be allowed.

Hotels, hostels and other accommodation should only open for those who have to travel for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions which will be set out in law.

A full list of the business closures will be published and set out in law.

Some venues will be allowed to remain open for specific exempt activities, like childcare and support groups. Support groups that are essential to deliver in person can continue with up to 15 participants where formally organised to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support. This includes support to victims of crime, people in drug and alcohol recovery, new parents and guardians, people with long-term illnesses, people facing issues relating to their sexuality or gender, and those who have suffered bereavement.

A number of public services will also stay open and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:

• the NHS and medical services like GPs. We are supporting the NHS to safely carry out urgent and non-urgent services and it is vital anyone who thinks they need any kind of medical care comes forward and seeks help.
• Jobcentre Plus sites
• Courts
• Civil Registrations Offices

There will be a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday to approve the lockdown which is scheduled to start on Thursday, in the meantime there will be pressure from MPs to provide businesses with an acceptable support package.

We will feed out the final Support Package and other details the minute we have them.

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Despite the best attempts by Covid to try to disrupt our lives, Hinckley Town centre is holding its own and footfall is better than in many other places. Please remember that Hinckley BID is here to help you if we can – just email steve@hinckleybid.co.uk or martina@hinckleybid.co.uk – or call Steve on 0770 939 4841.