NTIA Responds to the new Government Guidelines asking Hospitality & Night Time Economy to log every customer entering the business and the impending recommendation from Michael Gove to implement a Health Passport in the coming months to access hospitality and NTE spaces.
The review into Covid Status Certification, led by Michael Gove, looks likely to recommend that hospitality and late night economy businesses will have to demand immunity proof from people, to allow them to enter – with the threat of fines for venues if non-compliant. This could prevent millions of young people visiting these businesses for months, unless they get themselves tested in advance.
The Government has also announced that all customers will need to sign into pubs and venues on entry, rather than just one member of the group as was previously the case. This will add more confusion and inconvenience for customers and staff.
For reopening on April 12th, for outdoor services only, the Government has refused to confirm that payment at the bar will be permitted. This means that customers returning to their local may be unable to make payment in outdoor spaces, yet it is deemed safe to take payment inside in all shops and in non-licensed cafes and other venues from this point.
We are concerned that further dates within the roadmap will be levied with further unworkable restrictions, watering down the reality of returning to normality, and presenting further trading capacity limitations, which would require further support for the industry.
Michael Kill CEO NTIA said, “The additional barriers around the impending recommendations by Michael Gove on the implementation of health passports, coupled with the requirement for every person to have to register to gain access to businesses within the sector is unworkable.
“This would cause further anxiety for operators, creating more barriers to businesses, and potential conflict between staff and customers, as well as being discriminatory, given that the core of our market will not have been given the opportunity to have the vaccine by the time the roadmap engages the sector ”
“The Government has committed to a roadmap, but is now presenting trading restrictions with some significant barriers for customers, not forgiving the logistical challenges which we already operate under with the continuation of covid safety measures”
“There is a clear disparity between the way that the Night Time Economy and Hospitality sector businesses are being treated by the Government, with the likes of supermarkets and retail being given extended hours, no mandatory track and trace, no payment barriers and in particular non-essential retail being given a more favourable date for re opening at the cost of hospitality businesses.”
“Our sector wants to open the doors and trade our way out of the pandemic, not rely on Government financial support, but if we are confronted with restrictions hindering our ability to trade then they will need to provide more business support, including an extension to business rates holiday extension, furlough and a resolution to commercial rent debt, to save millions of jobs and businesses”
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