Easing of COVID-19 restrictions in England

The Prime Minister has announced that the government plans to move to Step 4 of the roadmap in England on 19 July. A final decision will be made on 12 July.

Key changes that will impact the food and consumer goods industry include:

• Ending the 1m+ rule on social distancing
• Removing the legal obligation on face coverings, although guidance will be in place to suggest where people might choose to wear one
• Removing guidance to work from home
• Removing limits on gatherings, including in hospitality venues
• No legal requirement for table service in hospitality settings
• No covid certification will be required to enter any venue or event
• Reducing the vaccine dose interval for under 40s from 12 weeks to 8

The government plans to make changes to NHS Test and Trace whereby fully vaccinated people would no longer need to self-isolate if identified as a contact.

The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions is planned in Scotland on 19 July. The First Minister of Wales will be announcing changes in restrictions for Wales next week. Regulations are due to be reviewed in Northern Ireland by 8 July.

Free COVID-19 workplace testing extended

Businesses in England that have registered have until 19 July to order free COVID-19 workplace tests. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Call for evidence on HGV driver shortages

Defra has requested that all businesses impacted by a shortage of HGV drivers complete a questionnaire and submit it here.

IGD continues to hear widespread reports of challenges relating to a shortage of HGV drivers as well as broader labour availability issues.

This follows a number of industry stakeholders raising concerns over the shortage of HGV drivers. In a recent letter to the Prime Minister, the Road Haulage Association described a shortage of more than 100,000 HGV drivers compared to around 60,000 prior to the pandemic.

Inflation concerns impact confidence

IGD’s shopper confidence index remains relatively high at -3 despite declining for the second month running.

The slight decline in shopper confidence is being driven by shopper concerns about inflation. 79% expect food and grocery prices to increase in the year ahead. 14% expect them to get much more expensive, up for the second month running (vs 8% in April’21). ShopperVista subscribers can access the latest Shopper Confidence Index report here.

Extension of grace period for P&R goods to Northern Ireland

The EU commission has agreed to a request from the UK government for a three-month extension to the grace period for sending certain Prohibited & Restricted goods (P&Rs), including chilled meat products, from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The movement of goods will now be allowed until 30 September. See here for further details.

EU settlement scheme update

The deadline has now passed whereby EU, EEA or Swiss citizens can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK. However, it still possible to register in specific circumstances such as if applicants can show ‘reasonable grounds’ (e.g., medical reasons) why they did not apply before 30 June 2021.

See all the key dates for UK-EU transition and other support for businesses that trade with the EU. This includes changes to EU Animal Health Regulations.

Flow of data from the EU to the UK

The EU commission has accepted that UK data protection is "adequate" meaning that personal information can pass from the EU to the UK. See here for further details.

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