It was encouraging to see how many people showed up and spoke up at the HospoDemo on Monday to raise awareness of the damage being brought to businesses by Tier 2 and the curfew combined. Now, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has got behind calls for the 10pm restaurant and pub curfew to be scrapped, saying they make no logical sense alongside Tier 2 restrictions.
“I have said for a while that the current curfew needs to be rapidly reviewed” said Khan in a statement. “We saw the worrying consequences of increased social mixing on the streets and on public transport in the capital around 10pm immediately after its introduction.”
He continued “now London and other parts of the country have moved into Tier 2 and higher restrictions, the current 10pm policy makes even less sense and should be scrapped. Immediately scrapping the 10pm curfew would allow more sittings of single households in restaurants throughout the evening, helping with cashflow at a time when venues need all the support they can get.”
As the new restrictions once again lower customer confidence in eating out, particularly restaurants in central London have been hit the hardest. With the curfew both creating a ‘second rush-hour’ and damaging businesses, CODE sees little reason for it to continue.
Khan also added that a “proper job retention scheme” was needed beyond the job support scheme that has been introduced from November, stating that furlough should be extended for those businesses still being heavily impacted by COVID19.
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