The SCR Chambers: East Midlands
East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire)
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The Chamber is the largest business representation organisation in the East Midlands. With a growing membership of more than 4,300 businesses, it represents the interests of businesses across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.
How the economy will fare during the lockdown in Leicester
weeks while the rest of the country geared up for the reopening of pubs, restaurants and other venues. Chris Hobson (pictured), Director of Policy and External Affairs at East Midlands Chamber, explains how this has impacted businesses. Some christened it “Super Saturday”, while
O
others labelled it as England’s “Independence Day” given its coincidental overlap with the American federal holiday. But while the UK celebrated the reopening
of pubs, restaurants, cinemas and hairdressers on 4 July after three-and-a-half months of Covid-enforced closures, there was no one marking the occasion in Leicester. That’s because just five days earlier, the
Government had imposed a local lockdown on the city, along with parts of neighbouring local authorities, due to a reported rise in local infections. It meant businesses in the hospitality industry that had forked out on perishable stock in anticipation of welcoming back customers were suddenly out of pocket. Being forced to waste this money has created more significant and underappreciated financial problems – the last thing they needed after an extremely challenging period since nationwide lockdown began on 23 March. While the overarching reason for the local
lockdown was understood as necessary for wider public safety, the decision by the Government on 9 July not to provide any additional, tailored support to Leicester businesses was a massive mistake. Many businesses had taken advantage of
the relief packages offered at the start of lockdown, which have proven to be a lifeline for many. But without additional help, there would unfortunately be a greater number of
n 29 June, Leicester became the first area of the UK to be placed into a local lockdown, setting it back several
business failures in organisations that, without the impact of the forced closures, would otherwise be fundamentally sound. We, along with many others, lobbied
Government to provide additional support. We argued this needs to be in the form of grants, as opposed to debt, to prevent storing up greater problems for 12 months’ time once interest rates pick up or deferred VAT needs to be paid. We have even made suggestions of where this funding might be found, drawing on underspend in original grant money existing in local authorities across the country. Leicester and the surrounding authorities –
along with any future areas affected – should be able to access some of this pot to deliver hyperlocal support to businesses impacted. Eventually, the Government made a U-turn
‘But without
by announcing some extra funding at the end of July in the form of a £3m grant to be distributed by Leicester City Council (£2.6m), and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council (£400,000). Confusion has continued to
additional help, there will
unfortunately be
a greater number of business failures’
reign, however, as little further guidance was provided about the eligibility criteria for businesses. In fact, the communications around the entire lockdown has been abysmal. When the
Government did finally confirm restrictions would be eased a
month after they were imposed, the news came as a footnote in a wider-
ranging national announcement – on Twitter
at 11pm. This really isn’t an appropriate way of communicating such a significant message, particularly when businesses and communities have been making great sacrifices to ensure we can keep the virus under control. It’s not the only lesson we hope the
Government has learned throughout this episode as other parts of the country inevitably have tighter restrictions imposed on them when local cases flare up. When the first extension of the lockdown was confirmed on 16 July, it took into account
Summer 2020 CHAMBERconnect 39
the more granular data that was available. But the criteria for decision-making seemed even more unclear, with some parts on the outskirts of the city released from lockdown while others with comparable levels of infection remained in lockdown. Shortly afterwards, new local powers were
created for authorities to enforce closures where they identified emerging problems. This appeared to pave the way for an
alternative strategy to the blunt instrument of a city-wide lockdown, which has hit both the cashflow and confidence of local businesses and communities in and around Leicester. And yet we then saw Greater Manchester –
an area with a population of 2.8 million people – placed under a uniform set of restrictions. Westminster needs to trust local authorities
that best understand their communities to implement the necessary measures and use these new powers alongside timely, localised data to avoid huge swathes of a city being held back unnecessarily. This would enable local government to
effectively balance public safety with the needs of the whole economy – and prevent another scenario like in Leicester, which now risks finding itself at the wrong end of a two- tier economic recovery.
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