Last week saw the launch of our Make Beauty Safe Campaign and we have been encouraged by the traction this campaign has already gained and how many people have already signed the petition. In order to make government take notice we require as many people as possible to sign - both from our sector and also from the clients we serve, so please support this critical campaign and encourage all your clients and colleagues to do the same.
As importantly - a big thank you to all our members who have contributed to our How's Business Survey. We have already published some of the findings from the results and forwarded these onto our government contacts to ensure we continue to highlight the incredibly negative impact the pandemic and restrictions have had and continue to have on our industry. This has helped ensure they keep making informed decisions and providing further financial support. We will be releasing all the findings to members and the press in the next couple of days too so if you haven't yet contributed and want to do so please ensure you do so today.
As we are only all too well aware the continual changes to England and the devolved nations lockdown strategies are incredibly fluid, so it is vital to ensure you are aware of what is happening in your own regions on an ongoing basis.
At a glance currently:
England
- The three tier system and rules remains in place in England
- Currently regardless of which tier your area is in - hair and beauty business may remain open provided you continue to adhere to the government guidance for that tier.
- IMPORTANT - please remember though that any local council in tier 3 may chose to apply additional rules and it is your responsibility to check what those are. Click here to access your council details
- Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire have now moved into tier 3 alongside Lancashire and Liverpool. Nottinghamshire are also currently in talks with government and announcements for that region are expected soon. For a full current list of which area are in what tier click here
Wales
- Wales is on a 17 day complete firebreak lockdown as of Friday the 23rd October which will run until Monday the 9th November.
- All hair and beauty is included in this lockdown (including mobile)
- Financial support is being offered in the form of a £300 Million support package due to open this week. See further details here
Scotland
- Scotland have now announced that they will move into a 5 Level system which will apply from the 2nd of November
- Financial packages will be made available to all businesses that have been affected, read here for more details
- The full strategic framework for the different levels is available here and a debate will take place on the 27th October to decide which level individual areas will fall into. Please take note of the Annex 1 of the downloadable PDF as it provides a useful table to understanding the levels . Page 61 gives details of Close Contact Services specifically.
Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland are currently in the middle of a 4 week circuit breaker lockdown which began on the 16th October. This includes all hair and beauty.
- Financial support is available to businesses that have been required to close. Full details on eligibility can be found here
Further Financial Support
The Chancellor has also announced that the government have made significant increases to both the generosity and reach of it's UK winter support schemes.
- open businesses which are experiencing considerable difficulty will be given extra help to keep staff on as government significantly increases its contribution to wage costs under the Job Support Scheme, and business contributions drop to 5%
- business grants are expanded to cover businesses in particularly affected sectors in high-alert level areas, helping them stay afloat and protecting jobs
- grants for the self-employed doubled to 40% of previous earnings
For the full details of these schemes please click here