Burton and Uttoxeter’s MP, Kate Griffiths, has meet with the Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, to raise concerns from worried constituents and local business owners about the hospitality and events sectors.
Trading in these industries continues to be limited with many restrictions still in place since before the coronavirus pandemic begun. Kate secured the meeting after hearing from many local businesses and those with their own hospitality business about the current difficulties trading and limitations that brings. During the meeting, Kate lobbied the Secretary of State hard for changes and support for the events and hospitality sector. Kate also raised specific cases such as Burton Albion unable to use currently use their hospitability suite as a restaurant, allowing them to operate in a COVID-secure way.
Kate said, “The events and hospitality sector has been significantly hit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Locally, we have seen how those working in the wedding trade and other local venues are incredibly limited with what can and can’t take place.”
“Whilst it is of course important we continue to do all we can to keep the virus under control, business owners and companies have put huge considerable amounts of time and money working out how they can operate in a COVID-secure way. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to put this to information to the Secretary of State and support the concerns of worried local business owners with him. I am grateful to him for taking the time to hear the issues of the cases I raised and pleased that he and his team are looking hard at this matter”.
Louise Hughes, who runs Lush Occasions, a local events company which has featured in the Burton Mail, said, “It is so sad and very frustrating that our wonderful Wedding Industry seems to have been forgotten. With weddings as far as next September postponing and more weddings cancelling as couples are giving up after the third time of postponements, it is a really worrying time. We need a way to hold weddings safely, which in my opinion all comes down to testing. Until we get a quick turnaround for test results, I think weddings would go ahead with numbers of 50. Financial support is desperately needed within the industry but all we want is to get back to holding weddings safely. I am happy to be involved in working on this."
