COVID-19 Updates – week commencing 21/06/21
More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance.
Go to date:
21 June 2021 …
Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance update
Easing of Restrictions moved to 5th July (indicative date) to ratified on 1st July
- Theatres and Concert Halls – Reopening of seated theatres and concert halls and other such venues. Tickets must be purchased in advance of the performance. Audiences for indoor events must have allocated seating and remain seated and social distancing of 1m will be required.
- Exhibitions and Conferences – Return of conferences and exhibitions in line with regulations.
- Home and community
o Remove the linked households/bubble provision.
o Permit outdoor gatherings to the maximum allowed as per risk assessment for venue (i.e., removal of 500 maximum) across all sectors. Over 30 people must be an organised gathering and would require a risk assessment.
- Live music
o In licensed and unlicensed premises which provide or sell food and drink (whether or not including intoxicating liquor) for consumption on the premises, permit live music at background or ambient levels; the volume must be such to enable visitors to conduct conversation at normal loudness of speech. No dancing permitted.
o At outdoor events permit live music and dancing, without restriction to background or ambient levels.
o Permit live music, without restriction to background or ambient levels for rehearsal, recording or performance purposes in concert venues, theatres and other indoor venues which, for the duration of the rehearsal, recording or performance are set aside for that purpose. No dancing for audience but permitted as part of performance.
o Permit live music, without restriction to background or ambient levels for “other indoor venues” – can include a space within larger premises – for example a function room or conference suite within a hotel. In such circumstances access to the venue must be effectively controlled and managed and the venue must be sufficiently isolated from the rest of the premises to ensure that the volume of the music in the venue does not breach ambient or background levels in other parts of the premises. No dancing for audience but permitted as part of performance.
o Entry to performances for audiences will be by ticket only. Tickets must be purchased in advance of the performance. Audiences for indoor events must have allocated seating and must remain seated (unless using facilities).
o Social distancing at a minimum of 1 metre will be required for live music related activity in indoor seated venues and will be advised for all outdoor events.
NI Updates
- Cruise Belfast – Today saw the return of Cruise ships to Belfast with the arrival of the MSC Virtuosa from Liverpool for a one day visit. In order for this to happen, Cruise Belfast, industry operators and relevant agencies have worked in close partnership over the last six months to develop a robust, Public Health Agency approved, Covid-19 Port Management Plan for Belfast. Initially, cruise operators in the UK will operate with significantly reduced passenger capacity – up to 1,000 passengers or 50% on each vessel, whichever is lower, allowing UK residents only to board. Many Cruise Lines are planning to operate on the basis of accepting vaccinated passengers only and also to include testing both prior to embarkation and on the cruise. Cruise guests can only come ashore on pre-arranged excursions and under the current restart guidance, these excursion groups will travel in small socially distant ‘bubbles’, with visits taking place outside of general public access times. Currently there are 72 domestic UK cruise ships due to arrive into Northern Ireland this season.
- British Airways – On Wednesday British Airways announced the launch of four new domestic routes from Belfast City for Summer 21. These new routes will operate alongside the existing services between Belfast City and London City Airport.
o Belfast City – Leeds Bradford operating 6pw, 16 June – 31 August 2021
o Belfast City – Exeter operating 4pw, 16 June – 30 August 2021
o Belfast City – Newquay operating 2pw, 03 July – 28 August 2021
o Belfast City – Glasgow operating 6pw, 02 August – 31 August 2021
- Easyjet – Belfast City Airport welcomed another new airline, easyjet who this morning announced it will operate a double-daily service between Belfast City Airport and London Gatwick from 9th July.
- Tourism NI – Survive, Revive, Thrive – If you missed the Tourism NI conference on Monday you can catch up at https://www.tourismni.com/events/ni-tourism-conference-2021-survive-revive-thrive2/#msdynttrid=Qi4gjBwBikGIoaat7ShBYyRznOnJ3tYxSKZLqzgl-TA
- Tourism NI National Tourism Events Sponsorship Scheme for 2021/22 – Tourism NI’s National Tourism Events Sponsorship Scheme for 2021/22 is now OPEN for applications. The closing date for applications is 10 am Monday 5 July 2021. NOTE: Conferences, exhibitions and Community Festivals are excluded from the scheme. The scheme is an open call process and applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis. The Scheme will offer financial support to eligible events taking place between 30 July 2021 and 31 March 2022. Events must satisfy the parameters below to apply for the National Tourism Events Sponsorship Scheme
o Total live visitor numbers greater than 500 or total live online audience for digital events greater than 1,000.
o Hybrid events must be a combination of both with a combined live and digital audience greater than 1,000
o Events must have a minimum income of £30,000 through ticket sales, private sponsorship, other public sector, merchandise etc. (prior to receiving monies from Tourism NI)
o Events must have an overall minimum expenditure of £30,000
o Sponsorship awards are available from Tourism NI of between £6,000 and £30,000 including VAT
o Tourism NI support cannot be included as part of the minimum income requirement and In-kind support is not included in the budget.
More details on the scheme, eligibility and criteria can be found at https://www.tourismni.com/globalassets/business-development/event-industry-support/funding-scheme-download/sponsorship-scheme/national-tourism-events-sponsorship-scheme-2021-22-guidelines.pdf
Tourism Alliance update:
ARG Eligibility
The guidance for ARG grants has been updated to highlight the businesses that are eligible, and this has been extended to businesses that are being impacted by the delay in moving to Step 4. The guidance now states up front that:
Local councils have the freedom to determine the eligibility criteria for these grants. However, we expect the funding to help businesses that are severely impacted by the restrictions.
Local councils are encouraged to support:
- businesses from all sectors that may have been severely impacted by restrictions but are not eligible for the Restart Grant scheme, including those which do not pay business rates
- businesses from sectors that remain closed or severely impacted by the extended restrictions, even if those businesses have already been in receipt of Restart Grants. This may include the travel and tourism sector, wedding industries, nightclubs, theatres, events industries, wholesalers, English language schools, breweries, freelance and mobile businesses including caterers, events, hair, beauty and wedding related businesses
It should also be noted that there is no limit to the number of ARG grants that a business can be awarded. So businesses that have already been awarded support under the grant can apply for further support.
FSB Tourism Report (Embargoed Until Tomorrow)
The Federation for Small Businesses is launching a new tourism report tomorrow morning called ‘A Menu for Recovery’. This report calls on Government to develop a new hospitality and tourism strategy, overseen by a minister, to focus on the underrepresented small businesses in the sector and help lay out future support plans.
The report asks Government to help small firms in the sector employ and retain skilled staff, which many businesses are struggling to do against a backdrop of Brexit and the pandemic. Cutting Employer’s National Insurance Contributions would play an important role in enabling retention and recruitment. FSB also wants to see more young people encouraged into the sector by ensuring T Levels work for small businesses by extending incentive payments for employers in England to deliver industry placements beyond July 2022.
The business group has also called for urgent action to:
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- Extend the hospitality VAT rate reduction to 5% until March 2022, and 100% business rates relief throughout the full financial year for businesses in England. More than half (56%) of small hospitality businesses say further rates relief would support their high street.
- Make the process easier for businesses that sell food and drink to apply to their local authority for a pavement licence, and maintain the right for pubs, cafes and restaurants to operate as a takeaway. FSB research shows 65 per cent of small hospitality and tourism businesses backed the relaxation of planning regulations, allowing them to do so.
- Back restaurants, cafes and bars by reducing alcohol duty on beers, ciders and wines.
Group Friendly Charter
UKinbound has just launched a Group Friendly Charter, which is designed to facilitate collaboration between accommodation providers and tour operators/group travel organisers. The Charter has been developed in response to the difficulties tour operators are facing in securing the availability they need whilst having the required flexibility to respond to ever-changing global travel conditions. The Charter’s competitive terms will allow accommodation providers to offer tour operators and group travel organisers flexibility in good faith, provide peace of mind, and encourage collaboration to aid the industry’s recovery.
The benefits of the Charter is open to all UK tour operators and accommodation providers (as long as they operate a COVID-safe policy) so please do share this with your members. Accommodation providers who sign up to the Charter can be identified by the UKinbound Group Friendly Charter mark, and included in their online listings.
Updated Primary Guidance For Tourism And Hospitality Businesses
The primary guidance for businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors has been updated to take into account the changes that the Government introduced for the period 21st June – 18th July. The guidance documents for different sectors are:
Visitor Economy
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/the-visitor-economy
Hotels And Other Guest Accommodation
Heritage Locations
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/heritage-locations
Performing Arts
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts
New Guidance For Travelling To And From England
The Department for transport has published new guidance for English residents travelling overseas. The guidance covers:
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- What people need to do before they travel
- What people need to do before they return
- What people need to do after they return
- Travelling with children
- The rules regarding travelling to Ireland, the rest of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
- Exemptions for work, medical or compassionate reasons
There is no new guidance in the document but it does consolidate existing guidance into one easily understandable document.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-abroad-from-england-during-coronavirus-covid-19
There is also a corresponding document for inbound travellers arriving into England from other destinations.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19
What You Can And Cannot Do Guidance Updated
A small but welcome amendment to the public guidance on what people can and cannot do with Hounslow from list of areas where there’s an enhanced response to the spread of the Delta variant.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
Consultation On Improving broadband For Very Hard To Reach Premises
DCMS is seeking views and experiences of the tourism sector’s broadband connectivity in rural and remote areas of the UK. In addition, DCMS would also like to receive information on both the known benefits of broadband services and the current barriers to deployment and take-up. Additional evidence, either from the UK or abroad, on technology availability, maturity, capabilities and costs, from suppliers and vendors is also welcomed. The evidence gathered will enable DCMS to assess the options available for delivering improved connectivity to areas where the costs of delivering better digital infrastructure have so far proven to be a barrier to deployment.
This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 25 June 2021.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-broadband-for-very-hard-to-reach-premises
Consultation On Protect Duty Consultation
The Home Office is seeking views on how the Protect Duty can make the public safer at publicly accessible locations. The consultation considers how we can work together to develop proportionate security measures to improve public security. It also considers how those responsible for publicly accessible locations are ready and prepared to take appropriate action, were a terrorist attack to happen. The Home Office is welcoming responses from anyone with an interest in, or experience of, the areas being consulted on within this consultation.
This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 2 July 2021
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/protect-duty
More EU Settlement Scheme Seminars
The Home Office has announced another series of seminars on the EU Settlement Scheme which closes for applications on 30 June 2021, The seminars cover:
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- Who needs to apply?
- What is Settled/Pre-Settled Status ?
- Late applications
- Right to Work Checks
- Support for EU Nationals
These will also be a Q&A session so you can ask any questions that you have.
You, or your employees, can sign up to one of these session using the registration links below:
24 June
28 June
28 June
29 June
23 June 2021 …
Tourism Alliance update:
As you will be aware, today is the Travel Day of Action with trade bodies and businesses from across the aviation and travel industries coming together to put pressure on the UK Government to support a safe return to international travel in time for the peak summer period.
The travel industry is calling on the UK Government to:
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- Allow international travel to return safely and in a risk managed way by properly implementing the Global Travel Taskforce’s plan for a traffic-light system, by expanding the Green list in line with the evidence and making restrictions more proportionate, whilst keeping a strong red list to guard against variants.
- Bring forward a package of tailored financial support, including extension of furlough support, recognising that the travel sector’s ability to trade and generate income is much slower than first anticipated and more gradual than for businesses in the domestic economy.
Can I please ask Tourism Alliance members to show support for colleagues in the travel sector and to demonstrate how widespread the benefits of international tourism are across all sectors of the UK tourism industry by using the hashtags – #speakupfortravel and/or #traveldayofaction in your posts today
At 2pm today, please take part in a Twitterstorm using this single twitterstorm post:
“Let’s build on the great progress of the vaccination rollout and safely open up travel this summer @borisjohnson. Jobs and livelihoods depend on it. People are desperate to see friends/family overseas, make business connections & have a break #speakupfortravel #traveldayofaction”
25 June 2021 …
Tourism Alliance updates:
Business Support Seminar
From those who were unable to attend the Business Support Seminar we held with UKinbound this morning, I have attached a copies of the presentations from Alexandra Marks, Chief Adjudicator at the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS), and Mark Supperstone from ReSolve which explain the support that both these organisations can provide for businesses.
Here is a recording of the seminar which you can view or download – please note, this link will only be valid for seven days.
Updated Format For Claiming CJRS Funding
HMRC has updated guidance to businesses that are claiming CJRS support for 16 or more people. Businesses doing this will need to download a new template, complete it and then upload it in .xlsx or .csv format in order to make a claim. Businesses that have already saved the claim forms in a different format (such as .xls or .ods), must save them again as .xlsx or .csv files as the other formats are no longer accepted.
Claims for CJRS support may be rejected the information in the right format.
You can download the form in the new format on the following link.
Safe Water Supplies When Reopening
This is a bit of a case of “shutting the stable door once the horse has bolted”, but PHE have just published a new document that explains the risks associated with re-opening businesses which have had water standing in its water supply system for a number of months. Foremost among these risks is that legionella may have built-up in the water systems of businesses such as guest accommodation and gyms. The guidance document explains how to flush water systems safely before staff and customers use it.
Updated Guidance for Visa Applicants
The Home Office has updated their guidance for people who are in the UK but their Entry Clearance was not activated due to COVID-19 restrictions. People who entered the United Kingdom outside the 30 and 90 day window allowed by their Entry Clearance vignette due to COVID-19 impacts, and their Entry Clearance was not activated as a result, can apply to remain in the United Kingdom without having to return overseas or reapply. This can be done by sending the following information to ECActivation@homeoffice.gov.uk :
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- a photo of themself
- a photo of their Entry Clearance vignette and passport biodata page
- a photo of the Entry stamp in their passport
- details of how their travel was impacted by COVID-19 regulations
- residential address where an updated Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) can be returned
An updated BRP will then be sent to the applicant with the correct conditions.
Updated Guidance for Businesses In Wales
The Welsh Government has updated guidance for tourism businesses in line with recent announcements. This includes:
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- Wedding and civil partnership reception guidance
The guidance for how venues hosting wedding and civil partnership receptions must operate during the COVID-19 pandemic has now been updated and published:
https://gov.wales/guidance-weddings-and-civil-partnerships-receptions-and-celebration-events
Educational visits guidance
The guidance for educational visits has been updated
https://gov.wales/operational-guidance-schools-and-settings-html
Lords Debate On Tourism
Here is a link to the Hansard transcript of the debate on tourism in the House of Lords yesterday. There are some excellent contributions on all the main issues impacting the sector at the moment. One of the key issues that came out of it was the view that more than just the voucher scheme and a new rail pass is going to be needed to achieve the Government’s targets of rebuilding domestic and inbound tourism back to 2019 levels a year ahead of Oxford Economic’s baseline analysis.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-06-24/debates/A63E1FD3-3B02-4FA1-8095-BFCCD2BDD55F/Tourism
Westminster Hall Debate On Support for Aviation, Tourism and Travel Industries
Here is the link to the Hansard Transcript of yesterday’s Westminster hall debate.. Again, this is an excellent debate that articulates the problems facing the international travel sector and takes forward the issues raised during the Travel Day of Action on the need for Government to do more to support businesses in this sector and to change the Traffic Light system in order to allow international travel to safely reopen over the summer period.
Changes to Green and Red Country Lists
Here are the changes to the Red and Green lists for international Travel, that come into effect at 2am on 30th June. It is worth noting that unlike the previous lists, there are effectively now four categories with “Green Watchlist” becoming a sub-category of the Green list. The same easing of restrictions apply to Green and Green Watchlist countries, but people are being warning when making travel plans that countries on the Green Watchlist that these countries could return to the Amber list at short notice.
Added to Red List
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- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Dominican Republic
- Mongolia
- Tunisia
- Uganda
Added to the Green Watchlist (these are Green List countries which are at risk of being moved to the Amber List at short notice)
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Balearic Islands
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- British Antarctic Territory
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Israel and Jerusalem
- Madeira
- Montserrat
- Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
- Turks and Caicos Islands
Added to the Green List
- Malta
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england
And here is a link to the data that the Joint Biosecurity Centre used to make these changes
