New restrictions will be devastating to pubs and restaurant, say Carlsberg, with 'little evidence pubs are unsafe'

Tighter restrictions on pubs and restaurants, including the 10pm curfew, will have a devastating impact of the industry, a VP at Carlsberg in Northampton said today, Friday.

Bruce Ray, VP Corporate of Affairs at Carlsberg UK, said there was little evidence that pubs were unsafe and called for the government to do more to protect brewing and pub jobs.

In a statement issued to the Chronicle & Echo, Mr Ray said there was a huge concern for venues in Northampton and many others across the country after the new measures outlined by the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

"I recognise each and every one of us has a responsibility in helping to curb the spread of COVID-19, but hospitality businesses have gone to enormous lengths to impose social distancing provisions, are using partitions, elaborate queuing systems and test-and-trace technology," he said.

"Having even tighter restrictions imposed on pubs and restaurants, such as a 10pm curfew, is therefore devasting in a time of fragile consumer confidence – especially as there seems to be little evidence that pubs are unsafe. We know from the Government’s own published figures that only five per cent of virus transmission comes from the hospitality environment."

Mr Ray said they were concerned that the new restrictive measures will "hamper the road to recovery for the sector".

"We are concerned it will lead to additional financial difficulties for the publicans that are still struggling and those who haven’t even been able to reopen after lockdown, particularly ‘wet-led’ pubs.

"Without additional financial government support, hundreds of thousands of people in hospitality could lose their job, and more than £750m of late-night revenues could be affected by the imposition of the 10pm curfew in England," he added.

Mr Ray said there were steps they wanted the government to take.

"In order to avoid severe short and long-term consequences for publicans who provide for hundreds of thousands of livelihoods across the nation - and play a crucial role in the Northampton economy and community - the Government must commit to protecting brewing and pub jobs, as well as the longer-term survival of numerous pubs.

"This is why we’re supporting measures, such as the Long Live the Local campaign to reduce beer duty, which has never been more important to help encourage consumer spending and calling for other measures to help our cherished pubs across the UK.”