Dear valued members,

We are thrilled to finally announce in light of the government’s announcement yesterday (Thursday 9 July) that close contact service businesses will be permitted to reopen from Monday 13th July in England. The government has published further COVID-19 secure guidance in a 43 page document which we have uploaded to the members hub for you to easily access. This guidance applies to England, except for Leicester and would not apply to other regions if a local lockdown is enforced by the government.

Re-opening of close contact businesses in England from 13 July

The following businesses which had to remain closed by law will be permitted to reopen from Monday 13 July as outlined in the table below with links to guidance to ensure their safe reopening.

Spas
Nail bars and salons and beauty salons
Tanning booths and salons
Massage parlours
Tattoo parlours
Body and skin piercing services

Business or Venue

Spas
Nail bars and salons and beauty salons Tanning booths and salons
Massage parlours
Tattoo parlours
Body and skin piercing services

Guidance for re-opening safely

All close-contact service providers are strongly advised to follow guidance on how to work safely available to download from the CThA members hub.

From 25 July, subject to assessment the evidence at the time regarding the rates of transmission, it is proposed that sports facilities and venues, such as indoor gyms, fitness and dance studios, indoor swimming pools and indoor water parks will be permitted to open.

Scope of Restrictions

The Devolved Administrations have issued their own guidance and regulations. The guidance can be found below:

Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Executive's confirmation statement on July 2, said resumption of close contact service, including massage, spas, tattooing and piercing could commence from Monday, 6 July. (The relaxation pertaining to spas does not apply to thermal treatment aspects of spas, including saunas and steam rooms, hydrotherapy pools and cold and ice rooms.)

Wales
First Minister of the Welsh Government, Mr Drakeford is expected to signal to begin preparing to reopen from July 27, depending on the state of Covid-19 in Wales at that time. We will of course keep our Welsh members informed.

Scotland
We have been advised by NHS Scotland that close contact services may not resume at this time. We will of course keep our Scottish members informed of changes.

Track and trace

The opening up of the economy following the COVID-19 outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace. You should assist this service by keeping a temporary record of your customers and visitors for 21 days, in a way that is manageable for your business, and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed. This could help contain clusters or outbreaks. Many businesses that take bookings already have systems for recording their customers and visitors – including restaurants, hotels, and hair salons. If you do not already do this, you should do so to help fight the virus. We will work with industry and relevant bodies to design this system in line with data protection legislation and set out details shortly.

Gatherings

People should continue to socially distance from those they do not live with wherever possible. Social interactions should be limited to a group of no more than two households (indoors and out) or up to six people from different households (if outdoors). It is against the law for gatherings of more than 30 people to take place in private homes (including gardens and other outdoor spaces) except where specified in the Regulations.

Businesses and venues following COVID-19 Secure guidelines can host larger groups. This is also the case for events in public outdoor spaces that are organised by businesses, charitable or political organisations, and public bodies, provided they take reasonable steps to mitigate the risk of transmission, in line with COVID-19 Secure guidance and including completion of a risk assessment. Any other gathering in an outdoor space must not be any larger than 30 people except where specified in the Regulations.

Businesses should demonstrate to their workers and attendees that they have properly assessed their risk and taken appropriate measures to mitigate it, for example by publishing their risk assessment online or making it available at the premises/event.

In particular, those operating venues or running events following COVID-19 Secure guidelines should take additional steps to ensure the safety of the public and prevent large gatherings or mass events from taking place. At this time, venues should not permit live performances, including drama, comedy and music, to take place in front of a live audience; and should not permit indoor grassroots sport to take place.

Individual businesses or venues should also consider the cumulative impact of many venues re-opening in a small area. This means working with local authorities, neighbouring businesses and travel operators to assess this risk and applying additional mitigations.

These could include:

Further lowering capacity - even if it is possible to safely seat a number of people inside a venue, it may not be safe for them all to travel or enter that venue.
Staggering entry times with other venues and taking steps to avoid queues building up in surrounding areas.
Arranging one-way travel routes between transport hubs and venues.
Advising patrons to avoid particular forms of transport or routes and to avoid crowded areas when in transit to the venue.

Local authorities should avoid issuing licenses for events that could lead to larger gatherings forming and provide advice to businesses on how to manage events of this type. If appropriate, the Government has powers under schedule 22 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 to close venues hosting large gatherings or prohibit certain events (or types of event) from taking place, and a power under Regulation 6 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020 to restrict access to a public place.

Compliance

As of 26 March 2020, the Regulations (which have now been replaced with consolidated Regulations to take account of the gradual relaxation of restrictions) imposed enforceable restrictions on people in England.

The Regulations are reviewed regularly to ensure they are effective and proportionate to the risk to public health. The most recent and up to date England Regulations can be found on the legislation website. Everyone is required to comply with these Regulations issued by the government in relation to coronavirus, in order to protect both themselves and others, to fail to do so can constitute a criminal offence.

An owner, proprietor or manager carrying out a business (or a person responsible for other premises) who contravenes the Regulations, without reasonable excuse, commits an offence. The restrictions on gatherings of more than 30 persons apply to everyone in the gathering.

In England, Environmental Health and Trading Standards officers will monitor compliance with these regulations, with police support provided if appropriate. Businesses and venues that breach restrictions will potentially be subject to prohibition notices, and a person who is 18 or over, who carries on a business in contravention of the Regulations may be issued with a fixed penalty.

With the support of the police, prohibition notices can be used to require compliance with the Regulations including requiring that an activity ceases. It is also an offence, without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with a prohibition notice.

If prohibition notices are not complied with, or a fixed penalty notice not paid, you may also be taken to court, with magistrates able to impose potentially unlimited fines.

Business support

In England, under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant (RHLG) measures announced on Monday March 16, businesses and venues in England in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will be eligible for cash grants of up to £25,000 per property.

Eligible businesses and venues in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000. Eligible businesses and venues in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000. Businesses and venues with a rateable value of over £51,000 are not included in this scheme.

For more information please visit the government’s business support page.

Business rates

In England, as announced on Monday 16 March, the government will provide a business rates holiday for businesses and venues in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector. This includes the businesses and venues in scope for closure listed above. The relief will apply to business rates bills for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.

Further Information

This guidance will be updated regularly as the situation develops and to reflect frequently asked questions. For information about support for business, please go to the government’s business support page or visit GOV.UK.