Coronavirus UK: When does a pub become a restaurant under new rules?

Pubs and bars will be forced to close unless they can function as restaurants serving “substantial” meals when new local closure measures take effect on Wednesday.

In legislation relating to areas at the “very high” level, clarity is given as to what constitutes a meal in a pub.

The regulations refer to a “table meal, and the food is such that it could be expected to be served as a main noon or main dinner, or as a main course at any of those meals.”

They add ‘a table meal is a meal eaten by a person sitting at a table, or on a counter or other structure that serves as a table and is not used for the service of soft drinks for consumption by people who are not seated at a table ‘or structure that serves the purposes of a table’.

Alcohol could be served as part of these and it will be the job of the police and city councils to enforce what passes as a “substantial meal.”

The changes come in new plans established by the Prime Minister for three ‘Covid Alert Levels’ that will govern the lockdown measures.

Boris Johnson said the new levels would ‘simplify and standardize our local rules’ while seeking to suppress the spread of Covid-19.

He said at a press conference tonight: ‘Areas within the Very High Alert category will be reviewed every four weeks and no part will be closed indefinitely.

And the exact restrictions at this level, Very High, will be resolved with local leaders, along with customized support packages.

But at the very least, sadly, they will include a ban on all social mixing between households in private places, including gardens and pubs, and bars must close unless they can function solely as a restaurant, serving alcohol only as part of a main meal. ‘

MPs and owners immediately reacted furiously to the news, and many pubs were concerned that they “would not survive.”

Labor MP Toby Perkins tweeted: ‘I asked the Prime Minister what support the government will provide to those businesses, like many pubs, which remain open but have become unsustainable as a business due to restrictions that have been imposed. Were any of the Chesterfield publicans reassured by your answer?

Claudia Webbe, another Labor MP, posted: ‘I want to be clear while I support the actions, they will not be enough and the data provided indicates that they are inadequate.

“Of course, every area is different, for Leicester East it is not pubs or restaurants that are bringing # COVID19 into homes. I asked that question directly 2 days.

Conservative MP William Wragg previously told Commons: “I’m afraid to talk about closing down hospitality venues like pubs, restaurants and cafes is meaningless given the very limited transmission of Covid within them.”

He warned that the danger is that people will gather in homes rather than in Covid safe locations, something the prime minister said restrictions on Level 2 and Level 3 areas would prevent.

A Conservative MP angered by a seat in the north told MailOnline: “It will be very frustrating if the pubs close 48 hours in advance.”

They added: “Why not focus on the elderly and vulnerable and save jobs and lives?”

Owners were also furious at the changes, with some in Liverpool, which is the first area to face the highest restrictions, worry about not surviving.

UK Hospitality warned of a lack of support for Tier 1 and Tier 2 hospitality businesses.

CEO Kate Nicholls said: ‘The impact of all these restrictions is enormous and we are rapidly reaching the point of no return for many companies.

For those companies in level 3 areas, forced to close their doors again, things look bleak, but the support announced last week for closed companies will hopefully give them the breathing space they need to survive another closure.

Currently, there is a worrying lack of support for hospitality companies at level 2 and, to a lesser extent, at level 1, despite the fact that they face restrictions that reduce trade between 40% and 60%.

‘They will have the worst of both worlds, operating under significant restrictions without the financial support that is offered to Tier 3 companies.

‘Without increased support in the form of grants and increased government contributions to the Employment Support Plan, many will fall by the wayside.

“It is time for the Government, at a minimum, to reconsider the mandatory curfew at 10 pm in those areas where COVID rates are low.

“It was imposed without credible evidence that hospitality is the source of the increased transmission, while some evidence points to the contrary. Letting hospitality dry out would be a serious and risky measure and would cost many people their jobs.

Frances Burleigh, landlady at The Beehive pub in the city center, said: ‘My biggest concern as boss and licensee is that my business will have to close again and it is very possible that we will not open next time because there are no funds in boat’. from the last time.

“In the last confinement I lost 6,500 pounds ($ 8,490) on beer alone and 3,500 on food and this time I will not survive.”

Karen Strickland, landlady at The Grapes pub, said her income was already down 70 percent with the nationwide closing time of 10 p.m., and the help from the government support scheme was not enough.

‘It is absolutely horrible. My staff, some of them haven’t returned to work yet, their work is just not here for them, ” he said, adding that there was no point in highlighting pubs.

She continued: ‘If our pubs are going to close, it won’t make any difference because everyone is going to have house parties, people will keep drinking, people will keep socializing.

“At least in the pubs we did what the government wants. If there is any safe place, it is in a pub.

She added: ‘I think he has handled himself awfully, to be perfectly honest. They seem to be penalizing the north again. ‘

Meanwhile, the hospitality industry is raising a legal challenge to the restrictions, aiming to halt its plans to shut down pubs and other venues to address Covid cases.

The Night Industries Association (NTIA) revealed Sunday night that the industry has taken legal action to prevent lockdown measures from being imposed.

The judicial review will argue that no evidence supports that the hospitality venues contributed to the spread of Covid-19.

NTIA Executive Director Michael Kill said: “ The industry has been left with no choice but to legally challenge the government’s so-called narrative ‘common sense’ approach to implementing new restrictions in the North of England.

“These new measures will have a catastrophic impact on night business and are further compounded by an insufficient financial support package.”

Johnson told MPs that the coming weeks and months will “test the mettle” of the country as it faces a second wave of Covid-19 cases.

Under the new provisions, the medium alert level will cover most of England and will consist of current national measures, including the six o’clock rule and the 10pm curfew.

The high alert level reflects interventions in many areas subject to local restrictions, preventing different households from mixing indoors.

Most of the areas that are already subject to local restrictions will automatically fall into this category, as well as Nottinghamshire, East and West Cheshire and a small area of ​​High Peak.

The very high alert level will mean, at the very least, the closure of pubs and bars and a ban on social mixing indoors and private gardens.

Areas at the top level may impose additional restrictions, and in the Liverpool city region this will mean the closure of leisure centers, gyms, gambling shops and casinos.

MPs will debate and vote on the measures on Tuesday, and the new tiered system will take effect on Wednesday.