COVID-19 Updates – week commencing 06/07/20
More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance.
Go to date:
6 July 2020 …
Tourism Alliance updates:
Quarantine arrangements
The Government has confirmed that:
- passengers returning to or visiting England from certain destinations including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, will no longer need to self-isolate on arrival from 10 July 2020
- FCO will set out exemptions for a number of destinations from its global advisory against ‘all but essential’ international travel, with changes coming into effect on 4 July 2020
- all passengers, except those on a small list of exemptions, will still be required to provide contact information on arrival in the UK
Consumer tracking report
Here is the latest Consumer Tracking Report from BVA BDRC. Key points are:
- There is no significant improvement in the public mood
- Only 3% of people have been to a visitor attraction since they reopened
- On average, people say that it will be 3-4 months before they go to an attraction with 28% saying they will do so before the end of August
- Despite the announcement that indoor attractions will be able to open from July 4th, the average lead time remains more than four months
- Over half of people say that they intend to take a UK holiday before the end of the year
- The proportion of people anticipating taking a summer overseas trip remains consistently low ahead of an announcement on air bridges.
£10m Tourism SME Kickstart Fund
Government confirms £10 million fund for SME tourism businesses in England that will provide grants of up to £5,000 to help them adapt their businesses following the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses can use the funding to pay for specialist professional advice such as human resources, legal or financial expertise, to adopt new technology and online systems or to purchase new equipment. There is no match-funding requirement
Trace and Trace Data Requirements
Here is a link to the published guidance.
Update on CMA Taskforce
The CMA has published another update on its work regarding complaints received resulting from the cancellation of holidays, travel, event bookings and other services.
Route Map for Scotland
The Scottish Parliament has published a new route map for reopening which includes the following milestones
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- 3rd July – travel distance limit relaxed, Self-catering accommodation and second homes (without shared facilities) permitted
- 6th July – outdoor hospitality allowed (subject to physical distancing rules and public health advice)
They have also announced that they will keep the 2m social distancing but consider the following sectors and settings appropriate for exceptions to the 2 metre rule provided that businesses implement agreed mitigations
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- Public Transport
- Outdoor hospitality
- Indoor hospitality
- Retail (including personal retail services)
The Route Map sets out what those mitigations may be but note that mitigation measures still need to be agreed on a sector by sector basis.
Wales Tourism Reopening Timetable
The Welsh Assembly has also published a timetable for reopening which can be summarised as:
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- If the requirement to stay local is lifted on 6 July, outdoor visitor attractions will be able to reopen on that date
- Subject to a review of coronavirus regulations on 9 July, self-contained accommodation can open on the 11 July
- Subject to the above, the hospitality sector will re-open outdoors from 13 July
- No dates have been set for reopening indoor hospitality facilities other than self-catering
https://gov.wales/timetable-phased-reopening-tourism-sector
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Update
The Guidance on eligibility for the SEISS scheme has been updated to provide more information on how a business could be deemed to have been adversely affected by coronavirus including information for military reservists having a new child affected the trading profits.
New ONS Data on the Economy
ONS have published two new reports which highlight the fact that tourism and hospitality businesses continue to be the most impacted parts of the economy by some considerable margin.
The first showing showing that, at the end of June:
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- 23% of the workforce were on furlough, with 68% of those receiving wage top-ups from their employer. This is a drop from the 27%
- Footfall in high streets was below 40% of its level in the same period last year, while footfall in shopping centres was just under 50%
- 36% of food and accommodation businesses and 40% of entertainment and recreation businesses said that all capital expenditure has stopped
The second being on business impacts which shows:
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- 86% of all businesses in the UK are currently trading
- The arts, entertainment and recreation sector, and the accommodation and food services activities sector reported by far the largest percentage of businesses that had paused trading and were not intending to restart in the next two weeks – 50% and 43% respectively.
- While 22% of all businesses said that turnover had decreased by over 50%, this figure was 52% for accommodation and food businesses and 58% for entertainment and recreation businesses
- The percentage of people on furlough in tourism and hospitality has fallen to just below 70% (was 80%) but this is still much higher than businesses as a whole (23%)
- 96% of accommodation and food service businesses have applied for CJRS support
- 10% of accommodation and food service businesses have no reserves and a further 57% have less than 6 months reserves – the worse of all industries for resilience.
Funding Package For Councils
The Government has announced a new funding package for Councils to address spending pressures and in recognition of lost income this £500 million package is to reimburse councils for lost income and allow council and business rates tax deficits to be repaid over 3 years instead of one.
Updated Visa Application Guidance on Reusing Biometric Information
The Home Office have updated visa application and renewal guidance to say that if UKVI can reuse the fingerprints that customers have already given, they do not have to attend a UKVCAS or an SSC service point appointment to provide biometric information. Customers who this applies to will be email to let them know and provide information on how they can send am image of their face and supporting documentation to complete the process.
8 July 2020 …
Tourism Alliance update
Travel Corridors: Written Statement to Parliament
Grant Shapps has presented a written statement to parliament regarding the progress that has been made in implementing Air Corridors, which are due to be introduced on 10th June. It’s worth noting that, with the exception of the USA, the countries on the list include all the UK’s top 10 inbound and outbound markets.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/travel-corridors
Advice for Accommodation Providers
DCMS’s Advice to accommodation owners has been updated to incorporate the changes that have occurred since 4th July. Among other things, the updated advice provides more guidance for accommodation businesses on what to do if a customer shows symptoms of Coronavirus while staying in the accommodation.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-advice-for-accommodation-providers
Travellers Exempt From Border Rules in the UK
The Government has updated the guidance for travellers who are exempt from Border rules related to quarantining so that transport workers who do not come into contact with passengers in the course of their journey to England will no longer be required to complete the passenger locator form. This will help pilots, seafarers, and Eurostar and Eurotunnel drivers who make regular crossings without coming into contact with passengers. There will also be additional exemptions for certain groups, including elite sportspersons and essential support staff returning to England or participating in certain elite sports events, and individuals coming to England to work on British film and television productions.
Number of People Furloughed Increases
One worrying piece of new from HMRC today is that although the tourism and hospitality industries reopened on 4th July, the number of people in the UK being furloughed actually increased between last week and this week – from 9.3m people to 9.4m people. This doesn’t bode well for either the UK’s recovery or people feeling more secure in their jobs and willing to make travel and holiday plans.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-coronavirus-covid-19-statistics
Eurostar Services Between Amsterdam and London
One further bit of good news on improving connectivity is that an agreement has been reached to enable direct Eurostar services to operate between Amsterdam and London later this year.
£1.57b for Culture, Arts and Heritage
The Government has announced that organisations across a range of sectors including the performing arts and theatres, heritage, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema will be able to access a £1.57bn package of emergency grants and loans. This package includes:
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- £1.15 billion support pot for cultural organisations in England delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up of £270 million of repayable finance and £880 million grants.
- £100 million of targeted support for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust.
- £120 million capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England which was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- £188 million for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33 million), Scotland (£97 million) and Wales (£59 million).
FCO Exemptions to Non-Essential Travel Advisory Notice
Here is the link to those 67 countries and territories that the Government has lifted it advisory notice to avoid all non-essential travel. It should however be noted that flights are not yet available to all these places and not all countries have indicated that they will accept British visitors/
Updated Guidance on How to Meet People
The Government has updated the guidance to take account of the reopening of businesses like restaurants, pubs, places of worship or community centres on Saturday. The core requirements are that people should
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- only meet indoors in groups up to 2 households (anyone in your support bubble counts as one household) – this includes when dining out or going to the pub
- only meet outdoors in a group of no more than 2 households or in a group of up to 6 people from different households
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-from-outside-your-household-from-4-july
Transport in Areas on Local Lockdown
The Government has updated guidance for transport operators providing services through or within areas under local lockdown to say that they should continue operating services as normal. However, in doing so, they should review and update their risk assessments to ensure they remain relevant and appropriate to the changed situation
Guidance on the Use of Places of Worship
Guidance has been produced for the safe operation of visiting places of worship. In addition to advice of staging services and events such as weddings, there is advice for opening for visitors stating that venues should work with local authorities, neighbouring businesses and travel operators to assess this risk and applying additional actions taken to reduce the risk of transmission . These could include:
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- Further lowering capacity – even if it is possible to safely seat a number of people inside a venue, it may not be safe for them all to travel to and from,or enter and exit the venue.
- Staggering entry times with other local venues and taking steps to avoid queues building up in surrounding areas.
- Arranging one-way travel routes between transport hubs and venues.
- Advising visitors to avoid particular forms of transport or routes and to avoid crowded areas when in transit to the venue.
Companies House Update
Companies House has published an update saying that businesses are now able to upload the following documents online rather than sending them in.
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- forms for Scottish limited partnerships
- forms for Scottish qualifying partnerships
- resolutions (in relation to a change of constitution)
- articles of association (in relation a to change of constitution)
Wales Eases Lockdown Restrictions
The Welsh parliament today announced that they are dropping the 5 mile rule, thereby allowing people to travel wherever they want in Wales (including visitors from the other nations). While outdoor attractions are able to open, the formal announcement of ability for accommodation providers and other sectors of the tourism industry to open will be made on Thursday with the self-catering sector scheduled to open on the 11th July and the operation of hospitality businesses on an outside-only basis scheduled to start on 13th July.
Alongside today’s announcement, the Welsh parliament also announced their own form of social bubble whereby people from two separate households will be able to join together to form one extended household. Apart from the two households being allowed to be of any size, the rest of the requirements mirror the requirements for social bubbles in England.
CPT operational update:
CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME – HMRC WEBINARS
HMRC has added additional times and dates for webinars covering the changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which occurred from 1 July
The webinars will give an overview of the changes to CJRS, flexible working/furloughing, the updated guidance on how to calculate your claim, the different levels of employer contributions that will be necessary from August, and the support offered to employers from HMRC
Webinars are available today 7 July and Friday 10 July starting at 11:45
Members can book a place using the link below
Elman Wall webinar
The recording of the latest webinar with Elman Wall is now available for members to access
To view the recording, please follow this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/uONOEeD6-31IQbPPuBnGVKAFG47reaa81XVKqaAJyR1c5WZvdHlmhNh05EYjPwWm
Access Password: EW02july@
9 July 2020 …
Tourism Alliance updates:
Here’s todays update with some good news about how the VAT reduction announced in the Chancellor’s Statement will be applied to bookings.
Chancellors Announcement
By now you will have digested most of the Chancellors statement so there are just a couple of things to highlight. The first is that the guidance on the announcements is due tomorrow so many of the details will be know then. However, I have been in touch with HM Treasury officials since the announcement and they have clarified that the reduction in VAT will apply when the payment is received – not when the product is “consumed”. This means that businesses can apply the reduced rate to any booking where the payment is received between 15 July 2020 and 12 January 2021 and provides significant opportunities for businesses to improve their cashflow by selling summer 2021 product at the low VAT rate.
The one other component of the package that I didn’t mention earlier that will be of interest to a lot of tourism and hospitality businesses is the Job Retention Bonus. This is a one-off payment of £1,000 to employers for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed through to the end of January 2021. Employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (£520 per month) on average between the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the end of January 2021. Payments will be made from February 2021. Further detail about the scheme will be announced by the end of July.
Travel Corridors Guidance Updated
DFT has updated the guidance for Travel Corridors with more information on transit stops, passengers arriving in England before 10 July 2020 and British overseas territories
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors
Public Health Officer Guidance
Public Health England have produced guidance for PHOs that explain their powers and outline how these powers should be used. These are useful to know, especially for accommodation businesses who may have a customer that they suspect has Coronavirus. The main powers are:
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- PHOs may direct, remove or request a constable to remove, an individual to a place suitable for screening and assessment.
- PHOs may require an individual to be screened and impose other requirements on an individual in connection with their screening and assessment.
- Following an assessment, a PHO can impose requirements and restrictions on the individual.
Impact on Household Incomes
Attached is a piece of analysis from HM Treasury on the impact of Coronavirus and Government interventions on the incomes of working households. The research shows that overall, the reduction in household income is less that 10% across almost all income groups except for the highest 10% and those in the bottom decile have actually seen a rise in their income.
Privacy Information Regarding Testing Positive
DHSC has updated the privacy Information guidance to say that if there is reasonable evidence that an employee contracted COVID-19 from a work-related exposure then the business operator is obliged to report this to the Health and Safety Executive, as required by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
Deferring Self-Assessment Payments
The guidance for self-employed people has been updated to explain why people’s June 2020 Self Assessment statements showed a date of 31 January 2021. Apparently, this is because HMRC updated their IT systems to prevent customers incurring late payment interest on any July 2020 Payment on Account paid between 1st August 2020 and 31 January 2021. The deferment has not been applied for all customers by HMRC and it remains optional.
Chancellor’s Summer Economic statement
Today the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, gave his summer economic statement in which he set out a ‘Plan for Jobs’ to continue the UK’s recovery from the Coronavirus outbreak. The Chancellor noted that tourism has been one of the worst affected sectors and below is a summary of the key points from the Chancellors statement for tourism businesses.
- The rate of VAT applied on most tourism and hospitality-related activities will also be cut from 20% to 5%.
- To encourage people to safely return to eating out at restaurants the Government has set up a new Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme. It will provide a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in cafes, restaurants and pubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday every week throughout August 2020.
- A bonus scheme worth up to £9 billion for firms has been announced to re-employ furloughed workers. An employer who brings someone back off furlough, and keeps them in a job until January, will get a £1,000 bonus. To get the bonus, firms must pay at least £520 each month.
- A new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme will also be launched to create fully subsidised jobs. Businesses will be given £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment already provided for new 16-18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Other Government updates
- Defer your Self-Assessment payment on account due to coronavirus (COVID-19). Further information about the July 2020 payment on account deferment has been made available.
- Updated videos are available on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and furloughing to reflect the extension of the scheme.
Industry updates
- The DFDS ferry route from Newcastle to Amsterdam will re-open on 15 July.
Eat Out to Help Out
The Government has published the Guidance of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme including how businesses can register to be part of the Scheme.
In reading this there seems to be uncertainty as to whether packaged products are eligible. The guidance states that products such as dinner cruises are not eligible so I’ve asked for clarity on B&B offerings. There could also be a problem for Heritage Railways in this regard.
The general details of the scheme are:
- The scheme will run from 3rd to 31st August 2020 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- It is a 50% discount, up to a maximum of £10 per person
- It applies to food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat consumed on the premises
- Alcohol and service charges are excluded from the offer.
- There is no limit to the number of times customers can use the offer during the period of the scheme
- The offer applies individually to all members of a group who are eating or drinking together – so it can’t be applied where a person in the group in not eating (ie., if a couple have a baby, they can only a get a maximum of £20 discount on their meal)
Eligible Businesses
Eligible establishments are those in which food is sold for immediate on-premises consumption. This could include:
- restaurants
- cafés
- public houses that serve food
- hotel restaurants
- restaurants and cafes within tourist attractions, holiday sites and leisure facilities
- dining rooms within members’ clubs
- workplace and school canteens
Here’s a link to more information
Registration
To claim the discount from Government, businesses must register. Registrations will open on 13th July and Close on 31st August
You can register if your establishment:
- sells food for immediate consumption on the premises
- provides its own dining area or shares a dining area with another establishment for eat-in meals
- was registered as a food business with the relevant local authority on or before 7 July
You cannot register if your establishment:
- only offers takeaway food or drink
- provides catering services for private functions
- is an accommodation business that provides room service only
- dining services (such as packaged dinner cruises)
- mobile food vans or trailers
The registration will be instantaneous with businesses receiving a reference number to use to claim reimbursement from the Government. They will also receive downloadable promotional materials to use to let your customers know they are part of the scheme.
Here’s the guidance on registration
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-your-establishment-for-the-eat-out-to-help-out-scheme
CPT update:
CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME – BONUS SCHEME
On Wednesday 8 July the Chancellor of the Exchequer made a statement in Parliament during which he announced a bonus scheme that will come into effect after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends
The Chancellor confirmed that the CJRS will end on 31 October 2020
The Chancellor also announced the introduction of the Job Retention Bonus
This will be a one-off payment of £1,000 to employers that have used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for each furloughed employee who then remains continuously employed until 31 January 2021
To be eligible for the bonus, employees must:
- earn at least £520 per month (above the Lower Earnings Limit) on average for November, December and January
- have been furloughed at any time and legitimately claimed for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- have been continuously employed after the end of CJRS until 31 January 2021
Employers will be able to claim the bonus from February 2021 once accurate RTI data to 31 January has been received
More information about the bonus scheme will be available by 31 July and full guidance will be published in the Autumn
CPT will update members when this further guidance is available
Tourism Alliance update:
Here’s todays update with lots of new guidance on the VAT reduction and the reopening of Gyms, Pools and Performing Arts
Reduced VAT Rate
The guidance of the reduced VAT rates has been published. The key points are:
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- It applies to all food and non alcoholic drinks consumed on the premises
- It applies to hot takeaway food and drink
- It applies to all holiday accommodation from camping through to hotels
- It applies to standard VAT rated attractions
- Flat Rate VAT Scheme rates will be reduced to take into account the reduction
- If you buy in and resell travel, accommodation and certain other services can use the Tour Operators Margin Scheme to simplify your calculations.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-reduced-rate-for-hospitality-holiday-accommodation-and-attractions
Separate, more detailed guidance is provided for individual business types – food provision, accommodation and attractions as below
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catering-takeaway-food-and-vat-notice-7091
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hotels-holiday-accommodation-and-vat-notice-7093
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-admission-charges-to-attractions
Pools and Gyms to Reopen
Oliver Dowden has announced that outdoor pools will reopen on 11 July and indoor gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities will reopen from 25 July provide that these facilities comply with new guidance. This guidance includes measures aimed at:
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- Limiting the number of people using the facility at any one time, for example by using a timed booking system;
- Reducing class sizes and allowing sufficient time between each class to avoid groups waiting outside during changeover;
- Ensuring an appropriate number of people are in a swimming pool at any one time;
- Spacing out equipment or taking some out of service to maintain social distancing;
- Enhanced cleaning and providing hand sanitizer throughout venues;
- Considering how the way people walk through their venue could be adjusted to reduce contact, with queue management or one-way systems;
- Ensuring adequate ventilation;
- Encouraging the use of outdoor spaces for individual, team or group activities, making sure to comply with the latest restrictions on public gatherings;
- Exercise or dance studios should have temporary floor markings where possible to help people stay distanced during classes;
- Customers and staff should be encouraged to shower and change at home wherever possible, although changing rooms will be available.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-gyms-and-pools-to-reopen-safely
New Guidance on Grass Roots Sport and Gyms Facilities
New guidance has been published on the safe operation of leisure facilities which includes Swimming pools and other similar facilities. The timetable for opening these leisure facilities is as follows:
From 11 July:
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- organised team sports outdoors – subject to the relevant sport’s guidance being published
- outdoor waterparks and swimming pools
- outdoor hot tubs
- outdoor hydrotherapy pools
- outdoor whirlpools
- outdoor jacuzzis.
- outdoor sport and physical activity participation events
From 25 July:
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- indoor gyms
- fitness and dance studios
- indoors sports venues and facilities
- indoor swimming pools
- indoor hot tubs
- indoor hydrotherapy pools
- indoor whirlpools
- indoor jacuzzis
New Guidance on Performing Arts – outdoor opening from 11th July
From 11 July outdoor theatres, opera, dance and music can resume so long as they take place outside and with a limited and socially distanced audience.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/performing-arts-given-green-light-to-resume-outdoors-on-july-11
Along with the reopening, guidance has been produced to help performing arts organisations, venue operators and participants including those who are employers, employees and self-employed, volunteers and non-professionals in the UK understand how to work and take part in the performing arts safely, and keep their audiences safe. This includes a five stage reopening plan:
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- Stage One – Rehearsal and training (no audiences)
- Stage Two – Performances for broadcast and recording purposes
- Stage Three – Performances outdoors with an audience and pilots for indoor performances with a limited socially-distanced audience
- Stage Four – Performances allowed indoors and outdoors (but with a limited socially-distanced audience indoors)
- Stage Five – Performances allowed indoors / outdoors (with a fuller audience indoors)
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts
