COVID-19 Task Force: Business and Hospitality

Oral Answers to Questions — The Executive Office – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 2:15 pm on 4 May 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Jonathan Buckley Jonathan Buckley DUP 2:15, 4 May 2021

3. Mr Buckley asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the actions taken by the COVID-19 task force to facilitate the reopening of business and hospitality. (AQO 1964/17-22)

Photo of Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin

The Executive's COVID task force is leading and coordinating an integrated programme of work for response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 April, the Executive made a wide range of decisions on reopening many aspects of our economy and society over the coming weeks. In line with those decisions, the task force has been at the forefront of coordinating engagement with key sectors through meetings with key representatives of the hospitality and retail sectors. The task force adds value to the recovery process by providing advice on key messages and mitigations in order to help increase adherence to the public health regulations and guidance.

The adherence work stream of the task force has facilitated the provision of specialist behavioural insights advice on the pathway out of restrictions and on supporting sectors to ensure that they reopen in a safe and well-managed way. In addition to the work of the task force, the Executive have agreed to extend financial assistance to sectors that are still restricted or partially restricted under the COVID regulations. That includes extending until 23 May the provision of the localised restrictions support scheme (LRSS) to hospitality and gym businesses, payments to businesses that are under COVID restrictions, the COVID restrictions business support scheme (CRBSS) and the large hospitality and tourism business support schemes for those businesses that remain eligible.

Photo of Jonathan Buckley Jonathan Buckley DUP

While I welcome the opening of our society, particularly the business and hospitality sectors, the Minister will know that there was quite a bit of ambiguity about the rules and regulations surrounding that reopening. With that in mind, what consultation has there been with the Executive task force and councils in order to ensure that there is continuity of approach in how they and the hospitality sector in particular deal with those difficult circumstances in the immediate weeks ahead?

Photo of Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin

I concur that there has not necessarily been a good and joined-up approach across council areas. We have seen different approaches in different areas. The junior Ministers are trying to coordinate that work to bring the council leads together. Last week, we saw in different areas businesses getting ready to open up that did not have the chance to do so or that had to amend what they had done. A lot of those businesses met huge financial costs to try to get their premises ready to open. It is important that there is not a blade of grass of difference between approaches as we work with the hospitality sector and the whole business community to get them into a state of readiness for opening.

Last week was a good news story. We have got to a great place on the COVID response. We are winning the battle against COVID, and, with the public's continued support, we will continue in that positive vein. However, there seems to have been some disparity of approach, and we will try to rectify that. The First Minister agrees with me that we want the strongest possible communication with the task force and the hospitality sector to make sure that issues that need to be resolved can be resolved.

Photo of Pat Catney Pat Catney Social Democratic and Labour Party

I, too, take the chance to offer our First Minister time to reflect as she spends time in Fermanagh, that most beautiful of counties. No doubt she will have that. I wish her all the best.

The deputy First Minister outlined the actions taken by the COVID-19 task force to facilitate the reopening of businesses and hospitality. How will those actions help? What is the task force doing to keep those businesses afloat and open?

Photo of Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin

As the Member knows, from 30 April, we agreed that unlicensed premises could reopen on an outdoors-only basis, with a maximum of six people from two households, and licensed premises, including social clubs, could reopen, again on an outdoors-only basis, with a limit of people from no more than two households. The curfews on takeaways and off-licences have gone. We have the indicative date of 24 May for when we hope to allow unlicensed and licensed premises to reopen indoors, with mitigations in place. We hope that that is welcome news for the hospitality sector. The priority for the coming weeks must be, as I have said previously, to engage with the sector to make sure that it has all the support that we, as an Executive, the task force and local government, can possibly offer.

It is in everybody's interest. We want to have the industry up and running again. We want to see people back in their place of employment. We want to see people out enjoying themselves, having a meal and getting out and about again. We want this to be sustainable and to continue in our positive vein, but it will only be through continued communication that we will be able to do that.

Photo of Pat Sheehan Pat Sheehan Sinn Féin

Enormous progress has been made in tackling the virus. Would the Minister agree with me that, as we move to further easing of restrictions, care and caution need to be the watchwords, especially when we take account of what is happening in India and even the news here that a number of people who have already been vaccinated have ended up in ICU with COVID-19?

Photo of Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin

I thank the Member for his question. He is absolutely right. COVID has no respect for timetables or dates. There is no doubt that this has been one of the toughest times for people, families, businesses, workers and all in our community. When we look at examples from across the world of how the pandemic is behaving, we see that we have to continue to be careful and cautious. We have to make steady progress and to keep going in the one direction, but the restrictions that we have had in place have been necessary at a point in time to suppress the virus and to continue to save lives and to protect our health service. We can continue to move forward and to make sure that we do not go backwards only when we have maximised the mitigations that are in place.

We want to continue to be positive and to give people that hopeful message, but it is important to say that we face risks from variants of concern. We are not out of the woods yet. We face risks from people getting together and perhaps being too relaxed. We need to encourage people to continue to take all the possible steps that we can as individuals to protect ourselves and others and to be mindful of the continued public health message around washing our hands, wearing our face coverings and limiting our social contacts and that, when we are out and about, fresh air and ventilation are part of our protection. Let us not be complacent and we can continue to make progress.

Photo of Stewart Dickson Stewart Dickson Alliance

I add my words to those of others in relation to the First Minister. I wish her well in the future.

Minister, looking forward from where we are in relation to recovery from COVID-19, you have a task force, the Minister for the Economy has a high street task force and the Minister for Infrastructure has responsibility around planning. Can you tell us what joined-up actions you will be taking in all those areas to reimagine our public spaces, particularly in the delivery of business on the high street?

Photo of Michelle O'Neill Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin

All those pieces of work have to interact with each other. None of those things can be done in a stand-alone way. An economic recovery package has to take into account the actions that the Economy Department has identified. As the Member rightly identified, we also have the high street task force, which, after a slower start than we would perhaps have wanted, I am glad to say is now off at a good pace. These things have to talk to each other and to complement each other. There is no doubt that the implications of the pandemic for our society and our economy have been immense. As I have said on many occasions in the Chamber, some sections of the economy have been hit worse than others: the hospitality sector is one, and tourism is completely on its knees. We have a huge amount of work to do to rebuild, and that will take us working collectively. We see it very much as the economic recovery package, the Programme for Government and all these things coming together and, as an Executive, planning our way out of this.

Photo of Alex Maskey Alex Maskey Sinn Féin

I call Mark Durkan. Unfortunately, there will be no time for a supplementary.