Latest Update Coronavirus

Government Roadmap

An important update for the local businesses and for the members of the North Kensington Connected Business Forum is outlined below. Click here to fill-in the Business Forum membership form, an invitation will follow from Stuart Woodrow – North Kensington Business Champion.

This framework is described as a one-way journey and this means that the 5-week intervals between the step changes may be extended if the evidence in the four tests below indicate anything of concern/not going to plan.  This has been made possible by the pace of our vaccination programme. The threat of coronavirus remains substantial, with the numbers in hospital only now beginning to fall below the peak of the first wave in April. However due to the extraordinary pace of the UK vaccine rollout, the protection afforded by the vaccines will gradually be able to replace restrictions. All adults are to be offered a first dose by the end of July with all over 50’s due to be vaccinated by 15 April. However no vaccine can ever be 100 per cent effective, nor will everyone take them up.

This means that at every stage Government decisions will be led by data not dates and be subjected to four tests >>

Here is a copy of the gov.uk roadmap, but the main impacts for businesses are as follows:

  • All non-essential retail will reopen on 12 April but customers will have to shop alone (or within household groups)
  • Hairdressers and beauty salons to reopen on 12 April
  • Pubs and restaurants will be permitted to open from 12 April but will not reopen indoors until 17 May
  • City centres are expected to roar back to life and economists (Capital Economics) are forecasting a bumper recovery that will send output surging to pre Covid levels by Christmas 
  • Households are predicted to spend savings built up during months of mass closures
  • Oxford Economics expects the UK to be among the world’s fastest-growing advanced nations this year as the shackles come off
  • International travel is pencilled in to return on 17 May and travel bookings surged last night after the PM’s statement
  • Businesses will learn the extent of further support from the Chancellor in next week’s budget on 3 March. There have been widespread calls for the Treasury to provide additional support including an extension of the furlough scheme and the holidays on business rates and VAT.