Businesses across Southport are busily getting ready to reopen as national Covid lockdown restrictions ease over the next few months – but which firms will be allowed to welcome back customers and when?
Here is our guide for both businesses and local residents.
The government has published the ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’ setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England. This is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously.
Due to the current relatively uniform spread of the virus across the country, the four steps set out in the roadmap are designed to apply to all regions. The indicative, ‘no earlier than’ dates for Steps 2, 3 and 4 of in the roadmap are all contingent on the data and subject to change.
From Monday, 29 March
At this stage, some further settings will be permitted to open.
This will include outdoor sports facilities such as:
- gyms
- swimming pools
- sports courts (such as tennis and basketball courts)
- golf courses, including mini golf
- water sports venues
- climbing walls
- driving and shooting ranges
- riding arenas at riding centres
- archery venues
People can use these venues in a group of six people, or with members of up to two households.
At this step, formally organised outdoor sport will also return – this can include a larger number of participants, provided that appropriate steps are taken to make it COVID-Secure in line with the law. Indoor facilities, such as changing rooms, should not be used at this time, although toilet facilities can be accessed. At this stage, these gatherings must only include participants – not spectators.
Businesses eligible to host childcare and supervised activities for children will now be able to host all outdoor children’s activities, and outdoor parent-and child groups for up to 15 people (not counting those aged under five).
Step 2 – no earlier than 12 April
Following the move to Step 2, further settings will be permitted to open. Unless a specific exemption exists, these must only be attended / used in line with the wider social contact limits at this stage – as a single household or bubble indoors; or in a group of 6 people or 2 households outdoors.
Non-essential retail will reopen. This will include but not be limited to:
- clothing stores and tailors
- charity and antique shops
- homeware and carpet stores
- showrooms (such as for vehicles as well as kitchens and bathrooms)
- electronic goods and mobile phone shops
- retail travel agents
- photography stores
- remaining auction houses and markets
- tobacco and vape stores
- betting shops (subject to additional COVID-Secure measures, such as limiting the use of gaming machines).
- car washes (except for automatic car washes that are already open)
Personal care facilities and close contact services will reopen. This will include:
- hair, beauty and nail salons
- body and skin piercing services
- tattoo studios
- spas and massage centres (except for steam rooms and saunas)
- holistic therapy (including acupuncture, homeopathy, and reflexology)
- tanning salons
Indoor sports and leisure facilities will reopen. This will include at:
- gyms and leisure centres
- sports courts
- swimming pools
- dance studios and fitness centres
- driving and shooting ranges
- riding arenas
- archery venues
- climbing wall centres
Self-contained holiday accommodation in which all facilities (including for sleeping, catering, bathing, and indoor lobbies and corridors for entry and exit) are restricted to exclusive use of a single household/support bubble will reopen.
Outdoor areas at hospitality venues (cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs, social clubs, including in member’s clubs) can reopen, including for takeaway alcohol. These venues may allow customers to use toilets located inside. At any premises serving alcohol, customers will be required to order, be served and eat/drink while seated (“table service”). Venues will be prohibited from providing smoking equipment, such as shisha pipes, for use on the premises.
Outdoor attractions will reopen at:
- adventure parks and activities
- animal attractions (such as at zoos, safari parks and aquariums)
- drive in events, such as for cinemas, theatres, and other performances.
- film studios
- funfairs and fairgrounds
- model villages
- museums and galleries
- skating rinks
- theme parks
- trampolining parks
- water and aqua parks
Public buildings, such as community halls and centres, and libraries, can reopen.
Businesses eligible to host childcare and supervised activities for children will now be able to host these activities (including sport) for all children, regardless of circumstances.
Permitted businesses operating in otherwise closed attractions (such as a gift shop or a takeaway kiosk at a museum) may only open where they are a self-contained unit and can be accessed directly from the street.
Outdoor gatherings or events, organised by a business, charity, public body or similar organisation, can be organised, subject to specific conditions: that they comply with COVID-Secure guidance including taking reasonable steps to limit the risk of transmission, complete a related risk assessment; and ensure that those attending do not mix beyond what is permitted by the social contact limits (unless another exemption exists, such as for work purposes, or supervised activities for children). This could enable spectators at a grassroots sports match or a village fete, provided people do not mix beyond groups of 6 people or two households.We will update guidance to local authorities on how smaller outdoor events like these should be run safely.
Indoor events or gatherings outside of someone’s household or support bubble are not permitted at Step 2 (even in a venue permitted to open) unless a specific exemption applies. This might include, for example:
- for work purposes (where this cannot be done from home)
- support groups
- supervised activities for children and parent and child groups
Wedding ceremonies and civil partnerships, funerals and commemorative events such as wakes can also take place indoors. Social distancing guidance applies in all such cases. Wedding receptions may only take place outdoors in Step 2.
Over the spring, the Government will run a scientific Events Research Programme. This will include a series of pilots using enhanced testing approaches and other measures to run events with larger crowd sizes and reduced social distancing to evaluate the outcomes. These pilots will start in April.
Step 3 – no earlier than 17 May
Following the move to Step 3, further settings will be permitted to open. Unless a specific exemption exists, these must only be attended / used in line with the wider social contact limits at this stage – in a group of 6 people or 2 households indoors; or in a group of no more than 30 people outdoors.
Indoor areas of hospitality venues will reopen. As outdoors, table service will be required. Venues will be prohibited from providing smoking equipment such as shisha pipes, for use on the premises.
Indoor entertainment and visitor attractions will reopen. This will include:
- cinemas
- theatres
- concert halls
- museums and galleries
- adventure playgrounds and activities
- amusement arcades and adult gaming centres
- bingo halls
- casinos
- bowling alleys
- skating rinks
- games, recreation and entertainment venues such as escape rooms and laser quest
- play areas (including soft play centres and inflatable parks)
- model villages
- snooker and pool halls
- trampolining parks
- water and aqua parks
- indoor visitor attractions at theme parks and film studios
- indoor attractions at zoos, safari parks, aquariums and other animal attractions
- indoor attractions at botanical gardens, greenhouses and biomes
- indoor attractions at sculpture parks
- indoor attractions at landmarks including observation wheels or viewing platforms
- indoor attractions at stately or historic homes, castles, or other heritage sites
- conference centres and exhibition halls, including for the purposes of business events (subject to the capacity limits set out below)
Remaining outdoor entertainment events, such as cinemas, theatres, and other performance events will also be permitted.
Remaining holiday accommodation can reopen, as can saunas and steam rooms. Indoor team sport and group exercise classes will return.
At this step, both outdoor and indoor gatherings or events, organised by a business, charity, public body or similar organisation, can be organised, subject to specific conditions: that they comply with COVID-Secure guidance including taking reasonable steps to limit the risk of transmission, complete a related risk assessment; and ensure that those attending do not mix beyond what is permitted by the social contact limits (unless another exemption exists, such as for organised sport or exercise, supervised activities for children or a significant life event).
Spectators will be allowed at elite sporting events and performance events. Attendance at these events will be restricted to 50% of capacity up to 1,000 people for indoor events, and 50% of capacity up to 4,000 people for outdoor events.
For outdoor events taking place in venues with seated capacity of over 16,000, event organisers may apply a 25% capacity cap, up to a maximum of 10,000 seated people. Large business events will also be able to go ahead, subject to the same capacity requirements.
Step 4 – no earlier than 21 June
In Step 4 the Government hopes to reopen remaining settings such as nightclubs and adult entertainment venues, and to lift the restrictions on social contact and large events that apply in Step 3. This is subject to the outcome of the Events Research Programme, and a review of social distancing measures.
The Government will also look to relax COVID-Secure requirements on businesses, subject to the outcome of the reviews.
Business support
The government has put in place a wide range of support for businesses affected by Coronavirus. For more information please visit the government’s business support page.
Please refer to the business closures guidance for more information on support for businesses up to 31 March. From April the Local Restrictions Support grants will be replaced with the Restart Grants. These grants will make available up to £6,000 per premises for non-essential retail businesses and up to £18,000 per premises for hospitality and other sectors that are opening later.
Local Authorities in England are also receiving a further £425 million of discretionary business grant funding, in addition to £1.6 billion already allocated, through the Additional Restrictions Grant. This funding is for additional business support to complement the Local Restrictions Support Grant and Restart Grant schemes for affected businesses. Local authorities have significant discretion as to how they use this funding to support businesses.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended until the end of September 2021 and is available for all eligible firms across the UK.
Access full guidance on claiming for wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) 4 and 5 were announced by the Chancellor in the March 2021 budget. SEISS 4 will provide support for the 3 months from February and SEISS 5 will provide support from May until the end of September 2021. This will provide support to self-employed individuals whose businesses have been adversely affected by COVID-19.
Access full guidance on claiming income support for self-employment through SEISS 4.
Since March 2020, loan guarantee schemes have also been available to ensure that businesses affected by the pandemic continue to have access to finance. From April, the government is introducing the new Recovery Loan Scheme to take place of the existing loan schemes: providing lenders with a guarantee of 80% on eligible loans between £25,000 and £10 million to give them confidence in continuing to provide finance to UK businesses.
Access full guidance on applying for the loan here.
The government also announced at Budget plans to extend the 5 per cent reduced rate of VAT for goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sector for a further six months until the end of September 2021. The rate will then increase to 12.5 per cent from October until the end of March 2022, before returning to the normal 20 per cent rate from April 2022.
For further information businesses can check eligibility here on VAT rate reductions.
Business Rates
In England, the government has provided a 100 per cent business rates holiday for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. This 100 per cent holiday has been extended to June 2021, after which businesses will receive 66% relief, up to a cap, for the following nine months. Nurseries in England will also receive this relief.
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