East Midlands Chamber react to the Prime Minister's decision to delay roadmap out of lockdown
Chief Executive Scott Knowles says the government must now 'step up' and provide the affected businesses with the financial help they need
There's a call for the government to provide 'maximum financial support' to businesses across Stamford & Rutland who've been impacted by the delay to the lifting of Covid-19 rules.
The Prime Minister announced last night that the so called 'Freedom Day' on June 21st will be pushed back a month until July 19th, so that millions more people can be vaccinated.
It means restrictions on nightclubs, theatres and pubs in England will stay beyond next Monday.
Scott Knowles from the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce says it's a huge blow:
"It's a massive disappointment to everyone, and of course to businesses who've obviously spent a significant amount of time, effort and money on preparing for the final unlocking of restrictions on June 21st.
"The Prime Minister's consistently said it's going to be driven by data and not dates.
"Therefore, if the data is positive during this period, we'd like to see the roadmap out of lockdown brought forward."
Meanwhile, Mr. Knowles also believes that employers shouldn't have to contribute to their employees' wages at all through the furlough scheme-until all coronavirus restrictions lift:
"We need to see the postponement of the tapering of the furlough scheme, to allow more support for affected businesses-until the formal restrictions are fully lifted.
"There's no point in supporting businesses through the last fifteen or sixteen months, only to see them fail at the final hurdle.
"The government needs to step up and make sure these businesses receive maximum support."
Meanwhile, the limit of 30 people for weddings has been removed by the Prime Minister, with the number of people allowed to attend funerals easing up too.