Food and Drink Federation response to Prime Minister's speech regarding Coronavirus restrictions

Commenting on the latest Coronavirus restrictions for the hospitality and food service sector, FDF's Chief Executive, Ian Wright CBE, said:

“These new restrictions on the UK's fragile hospitality and food service sector are a potentially fatal blow to manufacturers who specialise in supplying the hospitality sector. Many pubs and coffee shops will not be able to trade profitably under these new rules and will have to close again, with further threats from enforced closure due to local or national lockdowns. Those businesses and their suppliers also now face losing their furlough lifeline.

“We encourage government to heed the recommendations of the Treasury Select Committee and consider a targeted extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for the hospitality sector and its manufacturing supply chain. With a vaccine and end to social distancing, these 'squeezed middle' businesses will thrive again. By extending their support through this unprecedented but limited period, these businesses can play a full part in building a jobs-rich recovery beyond the pandemic, preventing the unnecessary economic damage of business closures and the scourge of long-term unemployment.”