Chancellor's Job Support scheme

Thrugelmir

Tammykitty said:

ftbhopes said:

daveyjp said:

Grumpy_chap said:i

Tammykitty said:

Personally - I think what we do, is let all businesses open with whatever restrictions necessary. 
What should a nightclubber owner do now
Businesses which are still not legally allowed (or allowed to open with serious restrictions - such as wedding and event related businesses) to open are completely different from those which are suffering due to lack of consumer confidence, recession etc.

It is all very well saying how long do we support them - for however long we don't allow them to open is the answer!

To support businesses that are not permitted to trade "for however long" is a perfectly valid answer, but I would like to understand whether there are any limits at all to how you interpret "for however long".
This lockdown has already been 6 months and the latest batch of support runs for the next 6 months.  (Not sure whether this latest batch of support offers much to a nightclub owner.)  That will take us to a year long event.
Would you continue to provide support for another year after that (total 2 years)?
Another 5 years?

What duty is there on the business owner to adapt, as other businesses have in some way also?  Yes, that may mean the nightclub operating as a bar or restaurant in the current period, or a less "active" form of entertainment - a venue local to me is resuming their stand-up nights, for example.  It is likely to be a very long time before nightclubs can return to "normal" and some alternative form of economic progression is probably the only way for these businesses to be viable.  It is probably not practicable or desireable to just subsidise them "for however long" as vacant premises with employees left "idle" but salaried.

If Government took the decision to pay more to people running business they are forcing to close due to their major failures it may focus their minds on getting a test, track, trace and isolate system in place which actually works.

It is far easier and cheaper for them to remove the support system completely as admitting failure is a sign of weakness.

The Government's lack of action could see the closure of every nightclub, every sports club and venue below possibly the top tier of football, every theatre, every arena, every live venue, every wedding venue and thousands of bars and restaurants.

They either haven't realised this or are happy to see the leisure sector be the fall guy.

The government have definitely failed a lot of industries but I think some people have refused to adapt or accept that things won’t be the same as before, ie are expecting to get support to ‘tide over’ until they can reopen as before, which might never happen. 

Re: sports clubs, I don’t know if this counts as I don’t do any other sports, but the dance studio I attend moved online during lockdown. The instructors, who are predominately freelance, worked with the studio, doing exercise videos that were specific to disciplines, with tiered options for membership. The owner put these things up quickly (the studio was open right up to forced closure before national lockdown) and was able to pay the instructors during lockdown and keep the business going. They’ve been allowed to open, but it’s not the same. The capacity is a lot less (like working at 50% or less), so pricing and timetables have changed to reflect that and using available spaces in different ways etc. Businesses legally allowed to open are continuing to adapt, and probably take less profit,  to keep the business afloat. Even if nightclubs were allowed to open, they would have to adapt for social distancing, so cannot expect the same business model as before.

Sports clubs also include your local rugby club, (Or in my case GAA (Irish Football) club - these businesses rely on gate receipts and if they can't have spectators, they can't make money, many are trying things like running draws, auctions etc to make money, but its not the same.
Even the elite sports, need gate receipts, TV rights don't pay for everything.

Companies and individuals that sponsor are cutting their cloth accordingly too. Revenues/incomes are falling across the board. Elite sports only have themselves to blame for the level of remuneration they've agree to pay.