Coronavirus

Jan- 2022 -

5 January

Daily testing for 100,000 key workers to be introduced

Up to 100,000 key workers in England will be required to take daily Covid tests from 10 January in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, the prime minister announced last night (4 January). The PM said the daily testing will target key industries, including food processing, transport…

Jun- 2021 -

17 June

Gov extends rent moratorium for another nine months

Stephen Barclay MP, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has announced the government’s extension of the rent moratorium for an additional nine months. The measure will assist retailers and hospitality businesses in surviving the year and will prevent landlords from evicting tenants for failing to pay rent throughout the rest…

Apr- 2021 -

9 April

Customers must ‘play their part’ in keeping retail staff safe, says BRC

Ahead of the reopening of ‘non-essential’ retail on 12 April, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and trade group Usdaw are asking people to “play their part in keeping shop workers safe” and ensure there is “no risk” to the government’s roadmap out of lockdown. According to the BRC, the pandemic…

Mar- 2021 -

24 March

Gov urged to avoid fourth lockdown as Covid claims 67,000 retail jobs

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on the government to take “all necessary precautions” to prevent another lockdown after 67,000 retail jobs have been lost in the past year due to Covid-19. The plea comes in response to the latest ONS job figures, which also show that employment levels in the sector have dropped…

17 March

Non-essential Scottish retail to begin reopening on 5 April

First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday (16 March) that lockdown restrictions affecting some non-essential retailers will be eased as soon as next month. Garden centres, homeware stores, non-essential click-and-collect services and hairdressers will be able to reopen as soon as 5 April. Most non-essential retailers will continue to be closed…

3 March

Sunak to extend furlough scheme until September

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to extend the furlough scheme until September as part of his March Budget which will be announced today (3 March). According to The Times, Sunak will state that the country is in a “moment of crisis” as he extends furlough for another five months, taking the support beyond the…

1 March

Chancellor to unveil £5bn high-street support package

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to offer over 700,000 retail, hospitality and other businesses grants of up to £18,000 as part of a £5bn rescue package to be included in his Budget speech on Wednesday (3 March). The new ‘Restart Grants’ will be directly distributed from local authorities from April…

Feb- 2021 -

23 February

Footfall rises for fifth consecutive week

Footfall across UK retail destinations rose by 6.8% last week against the week before, marking the fifth consecutive week of uplift ahead of the PM’s highly anticipated ‘roadmap’ announcement yesterday. According to the latest data from Springboard, this was only a fifth less than the rise of 8.5% in the…

19 February

Retail sales tumble 8.2% in January despite online boom

Retail sales tumbled by 8.2% in January despite rising online sales, as stores were hit by heightened restrictions amid the third national lockdown. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the value of sales was also 7.8% lower than the previous month, while the overall decline was largely driven…

17 February

Scottish retailers see business rates relief extended for 12 months

Scottish retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses will pay no rates throughout the next year, under new plans outlined by finance secretary Kate Forbes. The extension is part of £1.1bn consequential funding arising from UK government coronavirus spending. Forbes, who had already announced plans for a three-month extension in her…