Second lockdown announced

The Prime Minister announced that there will be New National Restrictions in place from this Thursday 5 November.

The National restrictions are that from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December, the Government is taking the following action:

1. Requiring people to stay at home, except for specific purposes.
2. Preventing gathering with people you do not live with, except for specific purposes.
3. Closing certain businesses and venues.

At the end of the period, the Government are looking to return to the regional approach, (with Blackburn in Tier 3) based on the latest data.

You can find the full guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november and the press release here:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-announces-new-national-restrictions

In summary, from Thursday 5 November:

Stay at Home

You must not leave or be outside of your home except for specific purposes. These include:

• for childcare or education, where this is not provided online
• for work purposes, where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people’s homes).  Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work
• to exercise outdoors or visit an outdoor public place – with the people you live with, with your support bubble or, when on your own, with 1 person from another household. Outdoor public places includes parks, beaches, countryside.  
• public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them), allotments
• playgrounds
• for any medical concerns, reasons, appointments and emergencies, or to avoid or escape risk of injury or harm – such as domestic abuse
• shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which should be as infrequent as possible
• to visit members of your support bubble or provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer

Business & Venues

The Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close. These include:

• All non-essential retail, including, but not limited to clothing and electronics stores, vehicle showrooms, travel agents, betting shops, auction houses, tailors, car washes, tobacco and vape shops.
• Indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, leisure centres and gyms, sports facilities including swimming pools, golf courses and driving ranges, dance studios, stables and riding centres, soft play facilities, climbing walls and climbing centres, archery and shooting ranges, water and theme parks,
• Entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, adult gaming centres and arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, concert halls, zoos and other animal attractions, botanical gardens;
• Personal care facilities such as hair, beauty and nail salons, tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services, non-medical acupuncture, and tanning salons.

Some further clarifications:

• Food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services can remain open. Essential retail should follow COVID-secure guidelines to protect customers, visitors and workers.
• Non-essential retail can remain open for delivery to customers and click-and-collect.
• Playgrounds can remain open.
• Hospitality venues like restaurants, bars and pubs must close, but can still provide takeaway and delivery services. However, takeaway of alcohol will not be allowed.
• Hotels, hostels and other accommodation should only open for those who have to travel for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions which will be set out in law.
• A number of public services will also stay open and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:
  • the NHS and medical services like GPs. We are supporting the NHS to safely carry out urgent and non-urgent services and it is vital anyone who thinks they need any kind of medical care comes forward and seeks help.
  • Jobcentre Plus sites
  • Courts
  • Civil Registrations Offices
• Places of Worship will be closed, unless they are being used for:

• Funerals
• To broadcast acts of worship
• Individual prayer
• Formal childcare or where part of a school
• Essential voluntary and public services, such as blood donation or food banks
• Other exempted activities such as some support groups

A full list of the business closures will be published and set out in law – I will send you this when it is published

Financial Support

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended until the end of November.  The Job Support Scheme will not be introduced until after Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.  This means:

• Workers in any part of the UK can retain their job, even if their employer cannot afford to pay them, and be paid at least 80% of their salary up to £2500 a month.
• The flexibility of the current CJRS will be retained to allow employees to continue to work where they can.
• Employers small or large, charitable or non-profit are eligible and because more businesses will need to close, they will now be asked to pay just National Insurance and Pensions contributions for their staff during the month of November – making this more generous than support currently on offer.
• More information is available here, but it hasn’t been updated yet to reflect the changes
  • https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-employees-you-can-put-on-furlough-to-use-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
  • https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
  • https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-what-to-do-if-youre-employed-and-cannot-work

Meeting Others

You must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble.