Shop sales of alcohol ‘could be restricted’
BUT COUNCIL BOSS STILL WORRIED RULES WON’T GO FAR ENOUGH
THE leader of one of the areas affected by the new Tier Three restrictions says he is concerned the new measures won’t be tough enough.
Simon Robinson, Conservative leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, said Home Office lawyers were looking at restricting alcohol sales from shops in a bid to stop illicit house parties.
This has yet to be confirmed by the Government.
Councillor Robinson said: “We’re looking at the retailing of alcohol, and changes with that, and that will probably be the most controversial.”
Asked which premises this would apply to, he said: “It will be everywhere alcohol is sold, so things like supermarkets, Tesco Express and all those sorts of things.
“The main thing is looking to see if there can be any restrictions, to stop things like house parties, where you can come out of a restaurant at 10pm with the curfew and then go and buy alcohol, for instance.
“It’s the retailing of alcohol which the lawyers are looking at at the moment.”
Asked about exactly what form any new restrictions could take, Councillor Robinson said: “No, it’s one of the big ones that’s really testing the Home Office, because you’ve got licensing law as well, so they’re working on what changes they can make to that.
“We’ve made a proposal but it’s up to the Home Office at the moment to look at it and see where it fits.”
Speaking about the overall package of measures, which will mean gyms, theatres, cinemas and hairdressers can remain open, he said: “Underpinning it from Rushcliffe’s point of view was threefold.
“Firstly was measures which would get us on top of the virus. Number two was still being able to keep an economy, so wherever possible trying to keep business open, and thirdly, which was very important, was residents’ wellbeing, and mental health.
“So leisure centres, for example, would fall into that category, to give people the chance to go out and exercise.
“They (Government lawyers) have had to work really hard to make sure the legal definitions are well-thoughtout, for instance, what’s the difference between a restaurant and a cafe, so that we the council can enforce and the police can enforce. That’s why they need to make sure these legal definitions are correct.
“What we’ve got to understand is that some people won’t be going to work on Thursday, that’s the bottom line of this, so it’s really sensitive, that’s why we need to make sure those definitions are exactly correct, and why they’re taking more time with it.
“Businesses will fit into three categories. There will be the ones that can continue anyway, so they’re OK. There are the ones with restricted capacity, so restaurants and hospitality, and there are the ones that have to close completely.
“We’re absolutely desperate to get that money out to the businesses as quickly as possible. By tonight people are going to be absolutely on the floor, and we’ve got a very big team at Rushcliffe, literally all on standby now as soon as that money comes through to actually get it out to our businesses.”
Asked whether he was relatively comfortable with the financial support being put forward by the Government, he said: “I am. It’s consistent with what’s been offered to the northern areas, Lancashire, Liverpool.
“Obviously it’s never enough, councils will always want more.”
Asked whether he was comfortable the measures will go far enough to bring the infection under control, he said: “The issue will be if we don’t get on top of the virus fast enough. We cannot plateau. We have to reduce. It’s not a case of just reducing the increases, we have to bring it down, and that’s my concern – will the measures go far enough?
“But they are keeping it under review. So the 28-day sunset clause, that has to be physically renewed after that, although up to that point there’s going to be very regular reviews of the data, both at the hospitals at the top infection levels and also the over 60s infection rate.
Asked whether measures could become stricter if the key data do not move in the right direction, he said: “The only option at the moment is to extend past the 28 days. But I wouldn’t rule out if extra restrictions have to be brought in.
“The restrictions we’ve brought in are only for a 28-day period. But there is that flexibility that additional restrictions could be brought in after that date, and extended into December.
“I asked the question if there was a Tier Four, and the Government minister said ‘not to his knowledge’”.