Doors reopening – at the start of a rocky road to normality
THE British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has estimated that pubs lost around £325million in beer sales over the Easter holiday as a consequence of the third lockdown, writes Neville Grundy.
This is the second consecutive Easter that pubs have been unable to trade. They are usually busy over the holiday, and the extra income helps see them through quieter times.
BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “It is imperative the Government’s roadmap to reopening in England does not get delayed.
“We hope our pubs will be able to start reopening outdoors from Monday, April 12 and from there on it is key the roadmap is stuck to and pubs are fully reopened without restrictions by Monday, June 21.”
This comes after the BBPA, along with other hospitality organisations and CAMRA, recently expressed serious reservations about the use of vaccine passports as a condition of full pub reopening, especially as there is no evidence that the sector has been responsible for any surges in infections.
At the time of writing (a mere eight days before pubs can reopen), the Government is still considering whether to impose Covid passports. This habit of deferring decisions until the last minute simply multiplies the problems that the hospitality sector has to address.
A coalition of industry groups have asserted that pubs have – yet again – been lumbered with excessive Covid-19 regulation compared to other sectors. The BBPA, UKHospitality, and the British Institute of Innkeeping have made a joint submission to the Prime Minister opposing any more impractical burdens.
They told him: “Government has promised the country that we will be reopening but we are now being told that this will be with our hands tied behind our backs.
“Pubs will already be trading at a loss when they reopen with all the existing restrictions and Covidsecure measures in place.”
They further warned that, although they did not want to rely on support from the state, if restrictions result in their operating at a loss, then government handouts will be essential to ensure they can survive: at the very least, extending the business rates holiday until autumn and more furlough support to help save jobs.
It is clearly going to be a long, rocky road to normality.
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