Bira welcomes 'robust contingency plans' for businesses

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has made a statement about the announcement by Boris Johnson that high Covid levels could hit businesses hard over the coming weeks.

Bira's CEO Andrew Goodacre said: "We welcome the fact that the government is looking to address future problems as the virus continues to spread throughout the UK.

"We would like to see more of the details before assessing the proposed actions more fully, however the challenge ultimately is to find ways of reducing the isolation periods, in a safe way, to allow more people to work or return to work quicker.

“Businesses also need certainty and will already be making plans for the first quarter on 2022. It would make this planning more effective if they knew in advance the support that will be made available should further restrictions be needed.

“We have already seen the negative impact on high street footfall from the current guidelines and we would be concerned if any new restrictions were to further damage consumer confidence."