‘Non-essential’ retailers in England, including electrical shops, will be able to reopen on April 12, according to new measures announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday (February 22).
The latest developments are part of the Government’s roadmap to cautiously ease COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in England.
The roadmap, which has now been published on www.gov.uk (and can be downloaded from our website by clicking HERE) outlines four steps for easing restrictions. Before proceeding to the next step, the Government will examine the data to assess the impact of previous steps.
This assessment will be based on four tests:
• The vaccine deployment programme continues successfully.
• Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated.
• Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations, which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.
• The Government’s assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern.
There will be a minimum of five weeks between each step: four weeks for the data to reflect changes in restrictions; followed by seven days’ notice of the restrictions to be eased.
The Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser have made clear that this will give adequate time to assess the impact of each step and reduce the risk of having to re-impose restrictions at a later date.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s plan, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, (BRC) said: “We welcome the additional clarity provided by the Prime Minister. While we are encouraged by a plan for non-essential stores to reopen, the heavy impact of the pandemic means some may never be able to.
“The cost of lost sales to non-food stores during lockdown is now over £22bn and counting. Every day that a shop remains closed increases the chances that it will never open again – costing jobs and damaging local communities.”
Ms Dickinson added: “Non-essential shops are ready to reopen and have been investing hundreds of millions on making themselves COVID-secure. Government should remain flexible and allow non-essential retail to reopen as soon as the data suggests it is safe to do so. Until it is permitted, retailers will need continued support from Government. We welcome the PM’s call ‘not to pull the rug out’ from under businesses. To this end, the Government must act on three vital issues – rents, rates and grants.
“To avoid further job losses and permanent job closures, the Chancellor must announce a targeted business rates relief from April and extend the moratorium on debt enforcement, as well as removing state aid caps on COVID business grants. This would relieve struggling businesses of bills they cannot currently pay and allow them to trade their way to recovery.”
