COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 28/06/21

COVID-19 Updates – week commencing 28/06/21

More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance.

Go to date:

30 June 2021

1 July 2021

30 June 2021 …

CPT Operations update:

CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME

CHANGES FROM 1 JULY 2021

When the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was to be extended until 30 September 2021 he also announced that the level of grant available to employers under the scheme will stay the same until 30 June

From 1 July 2021, the level of CJRS grant will be reduced and employers must contribute part of cost of the CJRS payment

To remain eligible to claim the CJRS grant employers must continue to pay employees 80% of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they are furloughed

The contribution required from employers will be:

10% (£312.50 maximum per month) during July 2021

20% (£625.00 maximum per month) during August & September 2021

Wage caps and contribution amounts are proportional to the hours not worked

Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance update:

Covid-19: Walk-in vaccine clinics – walk-in vaccine clinics, where no booking is needed, are being introduced in locations across NI. The first walk-in clinic was introduced at the SSE Arena in Belfast last Sunday. Further clinics will be set up in parts of Counties Down, Londonderry and Armagh by this weekend. Mobile units will be established at Castlewellan Community Centre and Donard Park Car Park in Newcastle on Saturday 3 July and Sunday 4 July. The Moderna vaccine will be available to anyone aged over 18 who has not yet had their first jab. They will be available between 11:00am and 7pm

Vaccination Programme – 2, 018, 191 vaccination doses have been administered. Over 80% of the adult population have received at least one dose, with 60% having received both doses.
We’re Good to Go – Over 1,800 businesses in Northern Ireland have signed up to the We’re Good to Go charter mark scheme to date. To obtain the mark businesses must complete the registration process through the We’re Good to Go online platform www.goodtogoni.com. Accommodation, visitor attractions, restaurants and pubs, business conference and events venues and tour and coach operators are currently eligible to apply. For further information on the charter mark visit: We’re Good to Go (tourismni.com)
National Tourism Events Sponsorship Scheme – The deadline for applications to this scheme to support the safe delivery of tourism events is approaching. The scheme will help organisers deliver innovative events that captivate audience engagement as well as support the wider economic recovery of the tourism industry in Northern Ireland, and applications close at 10am on Monday 5th July. More details at https://www.tourismni.com/build-your-business/sector/other-sectors/other-sectors-growing-your-business/events-industry-support/
Sightseeing Pass for Derry/Londonderry – Visitors and locals alike can now enhance their experience of the city through a new innovative digital visitor pass developed by Derry City and Strabane District Council in partnership with Visit Derry and part funded by Tourism Northern Ireland. More details at https://visitderrypass.com/
Tourism Ireland Glass of Thrones – Tourism Ireland has gifted its six ‘Glass of Thrones’ stained-glass windows to Maritime Belfast Trust (formerly Titanic Foundation Limited). The windows are now on permanent display in the Titanic Quarter and are part of Belfast’s Maritime Mile.

Tourism Ireland and The Shamrock Tenors, a new Northern Ireland-based harmony and multi-instrumental group, have joined Tourism Ireland in a new promotion for Belfast and Northern Ireland – a music video featuring a beautiful rendition of the song Belfast, originally written by singer-songwriter Alex Quinn. The video follows Lisburn-born actor and Normal People star Desmond Eastwood, as he arrives in Belfast City Airport and makes his return journey home to Belfast, reconnecting with his friends, family and the city. Viewers will also see some of our top attractions and landmarks, like Titanic Belfast, the Harland & Wolff cranes, Lagan Weir, the Albert Memorial Clock, The Duke of York, Cave Hill and City Hall. The video is being promoted by Tourism Ireland on social media in GB – on Facebook and YouTube. It will also be shared with Tourism Ireland’s millions of fans and followers on social media around the world. To view the full video, click here; and to view the 20-second video, click here.

Tourism Ireland film showcases our spectacular ‘Noises of Nature’ – Tourism Ireland has unveiled a new online film highlighting our wonderful wildlife and the spectacular nature to be found right around the island of Ireland.
Titled ‘Noises of Nature’, the film features beautiful footage of our wildlife – including stags at play, puffins feeding, whales splashing and swans in flight. It aims to build anticipation for holidays on the island of Ireland later this summer. The message is that “it’s been a tad quiet recently, but these green lands are anything but asleep … and when the time is right, we look forward to having you with us”. To view the film, click here.

Skills – Economy Minister Paul Frew has announced an investment of £180million in the NI Traineeship, a new vocational education and training programme for people aged 16 and over. The major investment will fund almost 20,000 Traineeship places in total over seven years, starting in September 2021. Tourism and Travel will be introduced in September 2022. More details at Traineeships | nidirect

Protection for Business Tenants – Finance Minister Conor Murphy has extended emergency protection for tenants having difficulty paying rent on commercial leases as a result of the pandemic for a further three months. The special provision in the Coronavirus Act 2020 which was first applied at the end of March 2020, is being extended once again, until 30 September 2021, giving a total of 18 months special protection.

Liquor licensing legislation – The Bill to modernise outdated liquor licensing legislation was finalised yesterday. This now goes forward for Royal Assent and is due to be law by October 2021.

Republic of Ireland

Blow to Indoor Hospitality – the delay to the opening of hospitality indoors was confirmed by the Taoiseach yesterday. He said NPHET’s advice is that the return to indoor hospitality should be limited to those who are fully vaccinated and those who have recovered from Covid. Pubs and restaurants will remain closed indoors until July 19 at the least. However, when service does return, the Taoiseach said that it will be limited to those who have been fully vaccinated first, followed by those who can show they have recovered.

GB Events Research Programme

The Government has published the first Findings from the Events research programme. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/events-research-programme-phase-i-findings/events-research-programme-phase-i-findings

The key observations are:

Observation 1:

The variation of transmission risk factors within a venue matters as well as the differences in risk between types of venue. Outdoor spaces are generally lower risk than indoor spaces. However, all venues are different and may have indoor spaces such as toilets, food/drink concessions and corridors which can pose higher risks.

Observation 2:

Large unstructured gatherings indoors where there is significant mixing of people in close proximity typically pose a higher risk.

Observation 3:

The ERP pilots demonstrated how risk mitigation measures could be put in place to reduce and manage the risks identified for events, building on previous SAGE-EMG’s conclusions.

Observation 4:

Compliance with requirements to wear a face covering and socially distance was mostly high, with lower compliance observed in higher risk areas, exacerbating overall transmission risk without sufficient mitigations in place.

Observation 5:

Pre-event lateral flow testing, questionnaire-based screening and consent to link event booking and test result data, as conditions of admittance to events, were accepted by audiences for most types of events and helped public health teams to respond to any potential outbreaks.

Observation 6:

It is challenging to generate robust, generalisable evidence of the transmission risk associated with particular events. Phase I pilots were necessarily limited in scale, and took place during a period of low prevalence of the virus. Further, they were insufficient in scale, scope and study designs to generate any direct evidence based on transmission data. Therefore, evidence on case numbers should be treated with caution.

What is particularly interesting in the report is Table 3: Testing rates and test results for Phase I pilots.This table shows that of the 10 test events, there were 4 at which no one was found to have tested positive as a result of catching coronavirus at or after the event. In total, of the 51,319 people who attended the events and took part in the research, only 17 were thought to have been infected either at the event itself or afterwards before they were tested – which suggests that the safety measures put in place for these events were largely very effective.

Tourism Alliance updates:

Jobs That Qualify for Travel Exemptions

The Government’s guidance on jobs that qualify for an exemption from the current travel restrictions has been updated to include:

- Business directors bringing significant numbers of jobs and investment to the UK

The exemption covers 2 types of senior executives (where they are undertaking qualifying activities in England). These are:

- multinational executives – executives based overseas who are part of multinational firms and visiting their UK based subsidiaries or branches
- international executives – executives of overseas companies normally based overseas who are seeking to undertake exempt activity in England related to either:
  - making a financial investment in a UK based business
  - establishing a new business within the UK

“Significant economic benefit” to the UK means that the work they are doing has a greater than 50% chance of creating or preserving at least 500 UK-based jobs in either:

- an existing UK-based business which has at least 500 employees
- a new UK business within 2 years of the date of their arrival in the UK

The exemption only applies if the business activity requires their physical presence and cannot be done remotely or by anyone who would not need to quarantine. A person wishing to use this exemption must apply using the business, jobs and investment exemption form which available on the following link. Only individuals who have received a letter from the UK government confirming that they meet the criteria for the exemption, based on the information provided, will be able to use the exemption. This letter must be obtained before travelling to the UK and presented to Border Force officials upon arrival.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-in-england-if-you-are-a-senior-executive-bringing-significant-economic-benefit-to-the-uk

Guidance For Visa Applicants and Temporary Residents

The Home Office has updated this guidance again to say that the date by which people can apply for ‘exceptional assurance’ has been further extended to 30 September 2021.

This means that people who have a visa, leave or ‘exceptional assurance’ that expires before 30 September 2021 and intend to leave the UK to return to a country or territory currently listed amber or red, but cannot do so because of travel restrictions, can request additional time to stay in the UK by emailing cihassuranceteam@homeoffice.gov.uk with the following details:

- full name
- date of birth
- nationality
- Home Office, GWF or any other reference number
- type of visa
- expiry date of visa
- reason for request
- evidence of flight or evidence showing reason they can’t leave

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents

Health Secretary’s Speech

For those of you who missed it last night, here’s a link to the new Health Secretary’s speech where he states that the Government “see no reason to go beyond 19 July” with the current rules and restrictions and that this date marks “the start of an exciting new journey for our country”.

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/19-july-remains-our-target-date-for-ending-restrictions

Shared Rural Network Consultation

Not Covid related but worth being aware of is a new DCMS consultation on Shared Rural Network related to additional 4G mobile coverage to be provided in Total-Not-Spot (TNS) target intervention areas. The consultation is mainly targeted at providers of digital infrastructure services but there is a question for members of the public and interested bodies as to whether they are aware of any current or planned (next 3 years) investments in the TNS target areas on the maps in the consultation document. So it’s worth checking whether there are any TNS areas in your region.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/shared-rural-network-consultation/shared-rural-network-srn-consultation-document

1 July 2021 …

Tourism Alliance update:

Clarification On Testing

The main public guidance on what people can and cannot do has been updated to tell people that they should use a PCR test rather than a lateral flow test if they have any Covid symptoms, even if they are mild.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

UNCTAD Report On Global Tourism

The UN’s Conference on Trade and development has published a report on global tourism. The main finding in the report is that The number of international tourist arrivals declined by 74% in 2020 compared with 2019 and that the beginning of the year 2021 has been worse for most destinations, with an average global decline of 88% compared to pre-pandemic level. Experts interviewed in the course of the study do not expect a return to pre-COVID arrival levels at least 2023 with nearly half not expecting a return to 2019 levels until at least 2024 due to travel restrictions, slow containment of the virus, low traveller confidence and a poor economic environment.

As part of the study they have modelled three scenarios

- Scenario One

A reduction in tourist arrivals as observed in 2020. Reductions averaged 74% with considerable variation between countries. This average reduction is close to the 75% reduction in UNWTO’s pessimistic scenario.

- Scenario Two

A reduction in arrivals averaging 63%, which the UNWTO sees as an optimistic outcome in 2021.

- Scenario Three

Takes into account varying rates of vaccination and assumes a 75% reduction in countries with low vaccination rates, and a 37 per cent reduction in countries with relatively high vaccination rates.

Using these three scenarios the UNCTAD has calculated that:

Under Scenario One

UK GDP will be 3.2% lower and employment will be 5% lower

Under Scenario Two

UK GDP will be 2.3% lower and employment will be 3.6% lower

Under Scenario Three

UK GDP will be 1.6% lower and employment will be 2% lower

It is worth noting that the impact on the UK economy under these scenarios has been modelled on the basis on a 60% reduction in inbound tourism to the UK this year, which a far smaller reduction than the 78% reduction forecast by VisitBritain, so the impacts on the UK’s GDP and employment levels could be greater than indicated in this study.

https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditcinf2021d3_en_0.pdf

Further Support For Businesses In Wales

The Welsh Government has announced further support for businesses impacted by coronavirus restrictions. Eligible businesses in the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors and their supply chains who continue to be severely impacted by restrictions, such as travel agents, attractions limited by social distancing and venues for school visits will receive up to £25,000 of additional support. To qualify for support, businesses must show their turnover has reduced by more than 60% compared to the corresponding timeline in 2019 or equivalent. An eligibility checker will open on the Business Wales website on 5 July 2021, which will allow businesses to check their eligibility for the support and the amount of support they are eligible to apply for, which will help them to start preparing their applications.

The fund will open to applications from Tuesday 13 July 2021, and will remain open for a 2 week period, closing on Friday 23 July 2021.

https://gov.wales/economy-minister-confirms-further-welsh-government-support-businesses-impacted-covid-restrictions

Transport Usage

It wouldn’t be a Wednesday without the latest transport use figures from DfT and as per usual, they indicated that there has been no change in public transport use over the last month. Indeed, the latest figures suggest that usage of the rail network has actually decreased by 10% over the last month and us now back down to about 45% of normal for this time of year.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

Traffic Light Lists Updated

The lists of countries in the different traffic light lists has been updated to take account of the recently announced changes that came into force at 4am this morning. If you’ve for gotten what these are, Anguilla, Antarctica/British Antarctic Territory, Antigua and Barbuda, Balearic islands, Barbados, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Madeira, Malta, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands moved from the Amber list to the Green list. Meanwhile, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda moved from Amber List to the Red List.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england

Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance

The news coming from the NI Executive today on the easing of restrictions had some good news, which I have detailed below, but it is very disappointing that the restart of business conferences and exhibitions has been further delayed without any indicative date provided. This sector has been unable to operate since the start of the pandemic. We will continue to engage with government to agree a plan to reopen. The NI Executive noted that 75% of Covid-19 cases on NI are the delta variant. The NI Executive will consider the sequencing of further restrictions at their meeting next week.

The changes to restrictions agreed today at the NI Executive meeting are:

From 2^nd July

The cap on outdoor gatherings will be removed and the maximum number permitted will be determined by the risk assessment carried out for the venue.

From 5^th July

All gatherings, indoors and outdoors (not including domestic settings) will now only be subject to a risk assessment if they have more than 15 participants for indoors, or more than 30 participants for outdoors.
Live music will be permitted at licensed and unlicensed hospitality businesses that sell or provide food and/or drink for consumption on the premises. This will be at ambient level only to allow conversation at normal levels and with suitable mitigations in place, such as screens.
Music will be permitted at outdoor events with no restriction on volume.
The number of households permitted to meet outdoors at private dwellings will be increased from 3 to 5, with the maximum number of people remaining at 15, including children.
The Executive has also approved a restart of overnight residential stays for children and young people across all sectors.

NI Updates

Top Up Payments Portal Now Open– The top up payments are for businesses which received either the £10,000 Small Business Support Grant or the £25,000 Retail, Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Grant last year, but which did not receive any funding during the most recent restrictions. While most businesses received their top up payments automatically last month, some businesses need to apply for the top up grant. These include businesses that operate from premises where the landlord pays the rates, businesses that have relocated since they were paid the original grant and new businesses which started trading after May last year.
Further information on the £10,000 top up grant can be found at http://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/RTHLTopUP
Further information on the £5,000 top up grant can be found at http://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/SBSGTopUp
Travel Update – The Department of Health have published a Travel FAQ which is available at Travel – FAQs | Department of Health (health-ni.gov.uk). This provides more information on the development of Covid Vaccination Status Verification Service to enable people to request proof of their vaccination status. Please note, the service should be available by 19^th July and requests will take up to 10 working days to process and arrive, by post, at your address. This is already having a negative effect as countries such as Malta, Spain and Portugal will require proof of vaccination status or you will have to self isolate on arrival.

UK Updates

Tax Debts – HMRC have issued a briefing: Collecting tax debts as we emerge from coronavirus (COVID-19) – which sets out the approach they will take to collecting debts from businesses and individuals. The overall message is to communicate with HMRC with regard to your situation. HMRC have stated that they will take an understanding and supportive approach to dealing with those who have tax debts or are concerned about their ability to pay their tax. This issue briefing sets out: 1) what HMRC will do when a customer has a tax debt; 2) the extra support that HMRC have put in place for customers and 3) what HMRC will do when a customer does not get in touch or refuses to pay. Details at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-issue-briefing-collecting-tax-debts-as-we-emerge-from-coronavirus-covid-19?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=dcf7cf62-126a-4fb0-81cb-38a9642c88af&utm_content=daily
Deferred VAT (payment due 30^th June 2021) – Any deferred VAT outstanding after 30 June 2021 will be treated as debt and may be subject to a penalty. Find out what to do to pay your VAT bill. If you are unable to pay and need more time, find out what to do if you cannot pay your tax bill on time. To find what other support is available, use the Get help and support for your business guide.
Data Adequacy Approved – The European Union (EU) has formally approved adequacy decisions for the UK, ensuring that personal data can continue to flow freely from the EU and wider European Economic Area (EEA) to the UK. The decisions include a so-called ‘sunset clause’, which limits their duration to four years. After four years, the adequacy findings may be renewed if the UK continues to ensure an adequate level of data protection. Details at EU approves adequacy decisions on UK data free flow (nibusinessinfo.co.uk)
CJRS Statistics – The provisional figures for people on furlough at end of May 2021 has been published. Those on furlough in NI has reduced from 92,900 at end of April to 58,600 at end of May. This reflects the easing of restrictions on 24^th May. Tourism related sectors account for almost 1/3 of the total people on furlough with 36% of those eligible for furlough in tourism related sectors still on furlough as at end of June.
UNCTAD Report On Global Tourism – The UN’s Conference on Trade and development has published a report on global tourism. The main finding in the report is that The number of international tourist arrivals declined by 74% in 2020 compared with 2019 and that the beginning of the year 2021 has been worse for most destinations, with an average global decline of 88% compared to pre-pandemic level. Experts interviewed in the course of the study do not expect a return to pre-COVID arrival levels at least 2023 with nearly half not expecting a return to 2019 levels until at least 2024 due to travel restrictions, slow containment of the virus, low traveller confidence and a poor economic environment. As part of the study they have modelled three scenarios
- Scenario One

UK GDP will be 3.2% lower and employment will be 5% lower

- Scenario Two

A reduction in arrivals averaging 63%, which the UNWTO sees as an optimistic outcome in 2021.

UK GDP will be 2.3% lower and employment will be 3.6% lower

- Scenario Three

Takes into account varying rates of vaccination and assumes a 75% reduction in countries with low vaccination rates, and a 37 per cent reduction in countries with relatively high vaccination rates.