‘Government must keep up support for aviation and hospitality sectors’
THE head of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce has urged the government to keep helping the hospitality sector – and do more for the beleaguered aviation industry as the economy slowly starts to reopen.
Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles, pictured, said despite positive signs that things are improving, many businesses are still desperately in need of state support.
He said we were still a long way off having a fully open economy.
Mr Knowles said the PM’s Easter weekend statement that “stage two” of the roadmap for lifting lockdown would go ahead on Monday, as planned, would be hugely welcomed by businesses in sectors such as hospitality and personal care, which were among those to have “borne the brunt of the harshest lockdown restrictions”.
He said: “The opportunity to partly reopen will provide a bounce for those firms and allow them to finally begin clawing back some of the lost income they have experienced over the past year.
“But with rules stipulating restaurants and bars can only serve food and alcohol to customers outdoors, we must remember this is only a small step in the right direction.
“It will require stages three and four of the government’s roadmap to take place before we can start to imagine normal life again.
“It’s not a substitute for a fully open and functioning economy.
“It’s also crucial that Westminster doesn’t use this as an opportunity to slow down its support to businesses in these sectors as many of these will be running at a loss due to the capacity constraints.
“The Prime Minister’s comments that so-called vaccine passports will not be forced upon pubs, restaurants and shops are also a relief for many of these businesses and we hope No. 10 continues to consult with the relevant industry groups about how they might be implemented voluntarily should owners believe they would be beneficial.
“On the flip side, frustration continues for the aviation sector, with international travel still restricted for the foreseeable future.
“It’s imperative the government provides the same type of financial support for this industry as it has for other parts of the economy that have been affected by lockdown.
“While we’re clearly not yet out of the woods, from next Monday we will finally be able to detect some light at the end of this long, dark tunnel – and start to dream of restoring some level of normality in all our lives.”
A government review into “Covid status certification” has said it could “potentially play a role” in settings such as theatres, nightclubs and mass events, and might also be used in pubs and restaurants to reduce the need for social distancing restrictions.
However, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the current state of play on vaccine passports a “complete mess” on Wednesday, warning that they could be a vast waste of taxpayers’ money when the focus should be on administering jabs.
He joined SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford in saying their MPs would not back the plans in their current form if the Prime Minister put them to a Commons
vote. Mr Johnson said on Monday that he would “certainly” consult Parliament on certification plans if they go ahead. Their use is reported to be opposed by at least 40 Conservative MPs, which could be enough to defeat the government with the support of opposition parties.
However, Downing Street sources did not rule out suggestions that the use of domestic certificates could be bundled up with a vote on international vaccine passports.
Such a move could boost the Prime Minister’s chances of winning a vote, because the international passports are far less controversial and would improve the likelihood of overseas holidays.
As they stand, certificates would utilise vaccination status, test results or evidence of someone having contracted and recovered from Covid19, and could be in paper form or an NHS app.