COVID-19: Chancellor urges Rishi Sunak to provide additional support to hospitality companies suffering from mass cancellation | politics news

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing growing calls for additional support for hospitality companies struggling with mass cancellations amid a rising number of coronavirus infections.

Top British health officials have advised to limit their social interactions with others in the lead-up to Christmas as the Omicron variant spreads across the UK.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also asked people to “think carefully” before attending social events in the coming weeks.

Whitty to be questioned by deputies on the Omicron; A million people could be quarantined from COVID on Christmas Day – live COVID updates

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0:46 “Prioritize only the things that really matter”

These messages – and the government’s imposition of Plan B measures to deal with COVID this winter – have led to fears of a massive blow to the hospitality industry in what should normally be the busiest time of the year.

Several companies have reported a string of cancellations in recent days, including Christmas parties.

One London restaurant alone has been said to have canceled more than 300 times in the past two days alone.

MPs from across the House of Commons, including the Conservatives, have now called on Mr Sunak’s Treasury to step in and provide more support to businesses over the coming weeks.

Trade unions also accused the consultant of being “missing on business” after it was revealed he was on a four-day trip to California this week.

Greg Smith, Conservative MP for Buckingham, warned that the new COVID measures “will hit the economy hard”.

“As panic spreads, people are canceling reservations, so it is imperative that the government is aware of the consequences of these restrictions.

“As much as I hate the idea of ​​more government borrowing, the right thing to do is support the corporate strike.”

Over 300 cancellations have been made at Banati’s restaurant in the past two days, and it has gone from breaking even to losing. BorisJohnsonRishiSunak Hospitality and Supply Chain need help, this is deja vue March 2020 😡😥

— Michelle Rowe Jr. (@michelrouxjr) December 15, 2021

Conservative fellow Anne-Marie Morris added: “If we actually tell people not to visit guesthouses this Christmas this year, that should be accompanied by sector-specific financial support from Her Majesty’s Treasury.”

“Where’s the chancellor?” asked Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor.

After Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, advised people to ‘not prioritize’ social interactions that ‘don’t matter much to them’, Ms Reeves added: ‘Following the science is critical, but that will hurt businesses and workers in sectors like Karam. Hospitality.

“It is not acceptable to have [Mr Sunak] It wasn’t there to outline business support.”

Speaking to Sky News Thursday morning, Shadow Health Minister Wes Streeting added: “I think it’s time to get Rishi Sunak on a plane, get back from California, and bring business and labor union leaders around the table to come up with a plan., a package of support to help hospitality companies good things during a period that will be very difficult for them.”

Darren Jones, another Labor MP and chair of the House of Commons Business Select Committee, said the prime minister’s message to “think carefully” was “the kind of ambiguity that would make people feel they should cancel dinners, drinks and other events”.

“The government must restore financial support to businesses and workers,” he added.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also said it was “extremely disappointing” that the government “has not yet announced much-needed financial support for businesses facing a wave of cancellations and closures”.

Alison Thewlis, a shadow chancellor for the SNP in Westminster, said MPs “should have heard a plan from the chancellor by now”.

A spokesperson for Mr. Sunak confirmed that the chancellor was currently “on a long-planned trip to the United States to conduct government business through back-to-back meetings and round tables”.

They added: “He is of course in contact with UK Treasury officials at all times and is speaking to representatives from the hospitality industry tomorrow.”

After it emerged that Sunak was abroad, Frances O’Grady, TUC’s general secretary, accused the chancellor of being “missing in action”.

“The chancellor should stand by the prime minister, and come out to help pay wages, save jobs and stop businesses from going to the wall,” she told the Daily Mirror.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We acted early to help control the spread of the virus – while avoiding harmful economic and social restrictions by allowing businesses to stay open.

“The £400 billion COVID-19 support package will continue to help businesses in the spring of next year and we will continue to respond proportionally to the changing trajectory of the virus, as we have done since the start of the pandemic.”

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