It feels very much like two steps forward followed by one step back at the moment.
Monday saw the launch of ‘Eat Out to Help Out’. You can use the excellent www.gov.uk website to find a participating restaurant. In the Arundel & South Downs constituency, the towns of Arundel, Steyning and Hurstpierpoint all triumph with more than 50 participating restaurants available. But even diners in more rural Petworth, Wisborough Green and Pulborough have around two dozen restaurants to choose from. And let’s face it, it is not every day that you can dine out and the Government chips in when the bill comes!
However, last Friday the government ‘squeezed the brakes’ on the long awaited easing of restrictions on many beauty treatments to the face such as facials, waxing, eyebrow and eyelash treatments and make-up application. The announcement came as a particular blow to the beauty salons that operate in every High Street in my constituency. Personally – and a point which I have made directly to ministers - there has to be some challenge on why these enterprises which have experience in applying rigorous hygiene standards, operate via bookings, are already regulated and where it is easy to check compliance are further back in the re-opening queue than others.
This also followed the re-imposition of blanket travel bans on whole countries such as Spain. I wrote back in early April of the need to introduce airport testing on arrival as one of the key ingredients of a sustainable aviation strategy as we learn to live with Covid. The Government should consider moving towards regional travel corridors recognising that not all parts of a country may be similarly affected from a spike in infections, allowing quarantine-free travel from those places. This would allow Brits to travel to the low-risk Balearic and Canary Islands in Spain and to Portugal’s Madeira and the Azores.
Whilst on aviation, I am pleased that pilots Union, BALPA, have reached a deal with BA that will save the jobs of the vast majority of its pilots and avoid the company having to implement new contracts on worse conditions. The airline is clearly facing an existential crisis with no return to pre-2019 levels of business until at least 2023 – and potentially ever. On the back of this deal I’d like to see BA also at the table with organisations representing cabin crew, engineers and office staff to try and minimise the inevitable impact of the pandemic on the loyal and long standing employees who create its customer reputation.
Finally, I share and understand the frustration of many readers about the influx of small boats illegally trafficking people from France - a safe country. More on this next week!
