Coronavirus lockdown: Al fresco dining could be allowed within weeks
Some restaurants, pubs and coffee shops could be allowed to open within weeks, which would be a month earlier than expected.
Ministers are reportedly considering plans to allow hospitality venues to open in outdoor areas in what would be a boost to the sector.
The plans would allow pubs, restaurants and coffee shops with outdoor areas to operate like market stalls, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The government’s original plans had restaurants and pubs opening at 4 July at the very earliest.
However, the plans being spearheaded by communities secretary Robert Jenrick could see venues operate under strict social distancing restrictions by early next month.
A Whitehall source told the Telegraph that the plans could lead to “more vibrant style of continental town centres in the summer”.
A second source said: “We’re trying to find small, simple changes that could have a profound impact on small businesses, and enable them to adapt and evolve.”
It comes as fears continue to grow about the long-term health of the UK’s hospitality sector.
Robert Chote, director of the Office for Budget Responsibility, today highlighted hospitality as one industry that may face “permanent scarring” after the coronavirus crisis.
Lobby group UKHospitality today wrote to business secretary Alok Sharma to call for greater rent protections for the sector.
The group said that some businesses “are still being aggressively pursued by a minority of landlords”, despite the government’s “moratorium on enforcement action”.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Having discussed this issue with a vast number of industry bodies, it’s clear we need a ‘national time out’ on rent as the vast majority of hospitality and leisure businesses will simply not be able to pay for the rest of the year.
“If the commercial rental market collapses, it will be to the long-term detriment of the whole economy and lead to millions of hospitality workers losing their jobs and swathes of businesses permanently closing their doors.”