New Plans to Support Hospitality Industry in Wake of Coronavirus Pandemic

New plans will help pubs, bars, restaurants, and hotels bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic, it has been revealed.

The report comes after the Government unveiled The Hospitality Strategy on Friday, 16 July.

With a focus on “reopening, recovery and resilience”, the plans will introduce a variety of measures designed to help hospitality businesses recover from Covid-19 disruption.

This will include developing a new recruitment strategy, such as highlighting opportunities in the hospitality industry to jobseekers through DWP’s dedicated work coaches and launching new apprenticeships, bootcamps and other academic qualifications specifically for hospitality vocations.

Hospitality businesses will also have greater access to finance under the strategy. According to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the British Business Bank (BBB) will work with lenders to support access to loans and overdraft facilities so hospitality firms can easily invest in their business.

The plans will also extend provisions allowing firms to host customers outside, with pavement licenses being extended and made permanent. Takeaway pints, meanwhile, will continue for a further 12 months as the temporary permissions for off-sales of alcohol are extended in England and Wales.

Other measures include:

• Supporting innovation and productivity by using the government’s Help to Grow programmes to strengthen the sector’s digital and management skills
• Helping the sector reduce emissions, including by cutting waste and single-use plastic consumption
• The launch of a new Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the strategy.

Commenting on the strategy, Business Minister Paul Scully said: “The pandemic has meant we’ve had to stay apart, and this has had a big impact on the hospitality industry, which exists to bring people together. We’ve been working with hospitality businesses throughout the pandemic to understand what support they need to not only reopen, but change and improve how they do things to meet changing consumer demands and protect jobs and livelihoods.

“We want young people to see the hospitality sector as a go-to option for long-term careers, and that’s why we will explore new options for vocational training and help further boost the creativity and environmental friendliness of the sector through the first-ever government strategy for the hospitality industry.”

The report comes as the Government’s coronavirus support schemes, such as the furlough scheme, come to an end later this year.

The Hospitality Strategy can be found here.

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