Agenda item

Oral update on the latest position.

The Committee received an oral update from the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection providing Members with an update on the current situation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members were advised that there had been lots of engagement with businesses in industry and the City Corporation continued to support them since moving from Tier 1 to a Tier 4 national lockdown. It was noted that there had been 64 legislative changes since the start of the pandemic.

The current lockdown was having a huge impact with only 15% of hospitality venues open for takeaways in the City in January compared with 60% in December. Officers and businesses keenly await the Government’s roadmap to be announced on 22 February 2021.

With regards to recovery, the Member and Officer Recovery Taskforce is considering the broader implications. Licensing Officers also continue to watch licences, payments and which businesses have left their premises. It was acknowledged that it was too early to understand the full impact of the pandemic until it was over, and businesses finally reopened. Since 1 April 2020, 21 licenses have been surrendered and 16 new licence applications have been made. No licenses have been formally suspended to date, but soft suspension letters have been issued to the 309 premises that have not paid their licence fees as per statute, plus 177 Late Night Levy fees remain outstanding. It was noted that a lot of businesses had been in touch to say they would pay the fees when they back up and running.

Members were advised that the City Corporation had been listening and engaging, with the Lord Mayor holding a series of round tables in December including livery industry bodies and local businesses. It was accepted that it would be a bleak winter and help was required by the businesses when they were able to reopen. The City Corporation will lead a media campaign to spread the messaging that the City was open for business, and also assist with footfall and open-air space to show case hospitality and create a “FOMO” effect to encourage people back into the City. It was also noted that the All Party Parliamentary Group are leading an enquiry and the Remembrancer has made a submission.

Financial support has also been offered by the City Revenues team administering £127m in business rate relief meaning 2,300 premises will not have business rate relief to pay for 2020/21. Alongside this, £20.4m in grants to SMEs (approx. 10% of the sector) have been made and new business support grants are also being established.

As Gary Grant alluded to during the recent Licensing during the Pandemic session, the City Corporation already has very supportive policies in place with the Al-Fresco Policy, which was being extended, and the existing licensing Policy Statement. It was confirmed that Officers were working with the Chairman and Deputy Chair to identify ways in which these may be enhanced to further support recovery.

The Chairman thanked all Licensing Officers for their hard work and compassionate support throughout the pandemic responding to the plethora of guidance and changes to assist the struggling hospitality industry which was hardest hit by the pandemic.