Businesses warn Executive of dire consequences of another lockdown before Christmas

This comes after the chief scientific advisor to the Stormont government, Professor Ian Young, said another lockdown in mid-December is “more likely than not”.

Health Minister Robin Swann also raised the prospect of another lockdown when he said his department would look for “further restrictions and further regulations before Christmas”.

The chief executive of Belfast Chamber of Commerce Simon Hamilton urged the Executive to make its decision “promptly” to avoid a repeat of the “disastrous” political deadlock last week that meant a decision wasn’t taken on whether to extend the current restrictions until hours before they were due to expire.

Mr Hamilton said: “It would be immeasurably better for such a decision to be taken promptly to avoid the debacle of last week and end this kind of unhelpful speculation.”

Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts, meanwhile, said: “It is very worrying that there could be another lockdown in Decmeber. I hope that can be avoided because I think it would be the final nail in the coffin for so many businesses, both in retail and in hospitality.”

He added: “I hope that can be avoided at all costs.”

Simon Hamilton, a former DUP minister who quit frontline politics prior to taking up his post with the Belfast Chamber, said: “The scale of the challenge facing the Executive as it grapples with Covid-19 is immense and is proving to be a tough task.

“Effectively tackling the virus, in part, relies on a clear communications plan which, as the debacle of last week starkly showed, has been sorely absent.”

He continued: “When the Executive took its decision to extend the current lockdown restrictions, Belfast Chamber pleaded with ministers to ensure that we did not see a repeat of the disastrous way that decision was made.

“The first minister rightly said that it was ‘a torturous example of how not to take decisions’.

“Yet, once again, businesses are hearing ministers speculate that more restrictions are coming.”

Mr Hamilton (pictured) continued: “Whenever the health minister or the chief scientific advisor or others muse publicly about more restrictions, it has a damaging and demoralising effect on business owners and staff who are already under immense stress.

“It makes them worry about whether or not the new dates they’ve been told when they can reopen will actually happen.

“It makes it almost impossible to plan properly for reopening. And it is resulting in bookings and appointments being cancelled, adding to the uncertainty and distress business owners and their staff are facing.”

He called for greater consistency from the Executive: “These are people’s jobs. These are people’s livelihoods. They shouldn’t be a plaything for politicians.

“Our plea to ministers is to take decisions, stick to them and stop this constant speculation which serves no one well.”

He said that if the Executive do decide to extend restrictions or impose another lockdown it “undoubtedly would damage jobs and livelihoods during what is the most important trading period of the year for many”.

Mr Roberts also emphasised the importance of the Christmas period for businesses on the high street.

“Christmas has taken on a whole new importance this year,” he told the News Letter.

“This is about survival for many businesses, and making sure that we can save as many jobs as possible.”

Asked if he shared the view of the Belfast Chamber chief executive on the need for a “prompt” decision, Mr Roberts said: “I think there’s certainly a lot of lessons the Executive need to learn after last week.

“There was a huge amount of reputational damage done to the Executive. They need to be clearer in terms of its approach but it also needs to be working with business – not doing things to us.”

Mr Roberts added: “I think there’s a lot more that needs to be done, that should have been done by now, but of course we’ll continue to engage.”