Restaurants, pubs and cafes will get automatic freedoms to provide takeaway services for another year, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced today (11 November 2020).

The measures help give these businesses the confidence they need to continue to serve customers and retain their staff. It will also help them adapt to longer-term changes they may wish to introduce, such as serving their customers from market stalls.  

This follows Robert Jenrick relaxing rules in March so businesses could offer a takeaway service during the pandemic, without having to go through a planning application process. This was due to end on 23 March 2021 but will now be extended by another year. The government will also consider whether to make these reforms permanent.

Whilst pubs and restaurants are currently restricted from selling alcohol on their premises to take away (but can still provide delivery or click and collect) due to the national covid restrictions in England, the law before March would have restricted pubs and restaurants from choosing to only offer food takeaway services.

The freedoms introduced in March and extended today mean pubs and restaurants can focus on selling food takeaways if they choose to, while being able to return to operating as a pub or restaurant from 2 December.

In July, the government also made it easier for businesses and communities to host markets and stalls. Mr Jenrick has today extended this option for the whole of next year. Again, the government will consider whether to make these reforms permanent. 

The government also helped businesses offer more alfresco dining by making it easier and less expensive to get an outdoor seating licence and is similarly keeping this under review.

Under the national restrictions currently in place, markets can sell takeaways from stalls. However, the stalls must not have seating areas.  

These measures build on the extra government support provided to help businesses and protect jobs. Including an extension of the furlough scheme at 80% until the end of March, grants of up to £3,000 for premises that must close, and £1.1 billion for councils to enable them to support businesses in their area.   

Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

We’ve taken decisive action since the beginning of the pandemic to support our pubs, restaurants, cafes and markets. Making it easier for them to provide takeaways has helped these businesses to adapt and helped sustain many through an unbelievably difficult year. 

That’s why I am extending these simple but effective reforms to support these businesses – helping give them and their employees more certainty over the coming year. It will also be a boost for their customers who can now look forward to continuing to enjoy meals at home from their favourite restaurants. As these reforms have made such a difference, I will be considering making them permanent.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality said:

The ability to provide takeaway services was a valuable lifeline for many hospitality venues, not just during the lockdown but in the days of reduced and restricted trade, too.

The extension will undoubtedly help many. For pubs, restaurants and cafes to operate as takeaways gives them a previously untapped revenue stream and a much better chance to survive what will be a tough winter. It will help avoid waste and allow businesses to retain a valuable link with their customers and communities.

Laws introduced today are also:

• Introducing minimum space standards for all homes delivered through Permitted Development Rights. All new homes in England delivered through these rights will have to meet the Nationally Described Space Standard once the amendment comes into force from 6 April 2021, ensuring they provide proper living space

• Helping to protect England’s cultural institutions by removing theatres, concert halls and live music venues from demolition. These buildings cannot be easily replaced and are an intrinsic part of our cultural heritage, which is why the government is clear that temporary social distancing restrictions should not be an excuse for them to be permanently lost. Planning permission is now required to demolish these venues

• Extending temporary measures enabling emergency development by councils and health service bodies from 31 December 2020 to 31 December 2021. This allows for buildings such as Nightingale hospitals

• Amending the right for emergency development by the Crown to allow for one year instead of the current 6 months and creating a new right for one year specifically in the case of a pandemic. This is currently being used to create additional capacity at Courts to enable social distancing and is supporting new test and trace facilities

• We also intend to roll-forward temporary changes that we made over the summer to ensure the planning system continues to operate effectively during the COVID-19 emergency and to support economic recovery. These include temporary freedoms on how planning applications are publicised, and on public inspection of planning documents

The right introduced last March allowing pubs, restaurants and cafes to provide a food takeaway service will be extended until 23 March 2022. Businesses must continue to tell their local planning authority when the new use begins and ends. The takeaway measure applies to food. Serving of alcoholic drinks will continue to be subject to licensing laws.

Businesses should contact their local council to enquire about a licence for an outdoor stall.

Last summer the government introduced laws to provide greater freedom over how people use their land. This doubled the length of time that temporary structures can be placed on land without needing an application for planning permission. 

The time limits in the existing right for the temporary use of land were doubled from 14 days to 28 days for holding a market or motor car and motorcycle racing, and from 28 days to 56 days for any other purpose.

This makes it easier to host markets, stalls, marquees, car boot sales and fairs for longer without needing a planning application. This was due to expire on 31 December 2020 and is now being extended by another year until 31 December 2021.

The government has today amended the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/596) to remove permitted development rights for demolition of theatres, concert halls and live music performance venues.

A new Bill to modernise the government’s powers to investigate and intervene in potentially hostile foreign direct investment that threatens UK national security will be introduced by ministers today (11 November 2020).

Under the National Security and Investment Bill, the government will be taking a targeted, proportionate approach to ensure it can scrutinise, impose conditions on or, as a last resort, block a deal in any sector where there is an unacceptable risk to national security.

The new regime will update the UK’s current powers – which are almost 20 years old and do not reflect the threats we face today – and bring them in line with those of our closest allies, without hindering the UK’s world-leading reputation as an attractive place to invest.

This will mean that no deal which could threaten the safety of the British people goes unchecked, and will ensure vulnerable businesses are not successfully targeted by potential investors seeking to cause them harm.

The new regime will apply to investors from any country, but will remain targeted and proportionate, so most transactions will be cleared without any intervention and foreign direct investment projects can continue to boost jobs and stimulate the economy across the UK, while ensuring the UK remains an attractive place to invest.

By bringing the UK’s regime into the twenty-first century, the government will make the screening system slicker and quicker for investors, providing certainty and transparency by working to clear timelines for decisions and making administrative procedures smooth.

Under the Bill, investors and businesses will have to notify a dedicated government unit through a single digital portal about certain types of transactions in designated sensitive sectors, such as our defence, energy and transport sectors, to ensure it can investigate and take action to address any national security risks.

The Bill will also extend our screening powers so we can interrogate the acquisition of sensitive assets and intellectual property, as well as the acquisition of companies.

Investments will be screened much more quickly than the current regime, assessing transactions within 30 working days – and often faster – with timelines set out in law rather than by the government on a case-by-case basis as is currently the case.

The vast majority of transactions will require no intervention and will be able to proceed quickly and with certainty in the knowledge that the government will not revisit a transaction once cleared unless inaccurate information was provided.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said:

The UK remains one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world and we want to keep it that way.

But hostile actors should be in no doubt – there is no back door into the UK.

This Bill will mean that we can continue to welcome job-creating investment to our shores, while shutting out those who could threaten the safety of the British people.

Kevin Ellis, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers said:

It’s vital that the UK continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investment and these measures will help to give much needed certainty and transparency to investors and businesses.

While we shouldn’t underestimate the UK’s attractiveness for investment, competition for FDI is getting much fiercer. Across all industries and markets the bar is being raised and we can’t rely on existing skills, historical relationships or legacy perceptions to drive future success.

Now more than ever we need to make it easier for that investment to materialise. FDI is crucial to fund build back better and for the economy, innovation, and most importantly, jobs.

The UK is consistently placed as one of the leading destinations for foreign investment in Europe and around the world, thanks to the strength of its workforce, innovation and lack of red tape.

We are in a unique position in terms of language, legal system, time zone, and regulatory approach, which cannot be replicated anywhere else.

In what represents a major addition to the UK government’s ability to attract foreign investment, earlier this week the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the creation of the Office for Investment (OFI), a new unit staffed by highly experienced individuals tasked to land high value investment opportunities in infrastructure, clean technologies and research and development.

The UK is not alone in making such changes to its regime, which means global investors will be familiar with our approach. Like us, earlier this year the United States introduced mandatory notification requirements for transactions concerning specified types of businesses as part of a broader programme for reform. The Australian Government introduced legislation to their Parliament requiring foreign investors to seek approval to acquire a direct interest in sensitive national security businesses. And, like us, several other major recipients of investment, including France and Italy, have regimes that make certain transactions which take place without prior approval legally void.

Overall, the National Security and Investment Bill will make interactions with government much slicker as we remain open for trade and continue our fight against COVID-19.

The Investment Security Unit will sit within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and provide a single point of contact for businesses wishing to understand the Bill and notify the government about transactions. The unit will also coordinate cross-government activity to identify, assess and respond to national security risks arising through market activity – providing certainty for businesses that they will not be targeted and exploited by hostile actors.

Notes to editors:

• Examples of possible conditions that could be put on deals posing a risk to national security include altering the amount of shares an investor is allowed to acquire, restricting access to commercial information, or controlling access to certain operational sites or works.
• There will also be sanctions for non-compliance with the regime, which include fines of up to 5% of worldwide turnover or £10 million – whichever is the greater – and imprisonment of up to 5 years. Transactions covered by mandatory notification which take place without clearance will be legally void.
• We are also taking a five-year retrospective power to call in transactions in the wider economy which were not notified to us but may raise national security concerns, both of which are similar to the powers under the French, German and Italian regimes. However, these powers will not apply to transactions which took place prior to the Bill’s introduction to Parliament, so businesses and investors have certainty about historical deals.
• The government’s existing national security powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 will continue to apply while the Bill completes its passage so only transactions that do not meet the thresholds of that legislation are likely to be affected.
• The government has been considering these reforms for some time – publishing a Green Paper on national security and investment in October 2017, followed by a White Paper in July 2018. Since those publications, the government has further considered what powers are necessary.
• The government will clearly and tightly define what types of transaction will require mandatory notification.
• The government expects some transactions in the following sectors will face mandatory notification, and will consult on what parts of these sectors should be covered:
  1. Civil Nuclear
  2. Communications
  3. Data Infrastructure
  4. Defence
  5. Energy
  6. Transport
  7. Artificial Intelligence
  8. Autonomous Robotics
  9. Computing Hardware
  10. Cryptographic Authentication
  11. Advanced Materials
  12. Quantum Technologies
  13. Engineering Biology
  14. Critical Suppliers to Government
  15. Critical Suppliers to the Emergency Services
  16. Military or Dual-Use Technologies
  17. Satellite and Space Technologies
• The legislation will apply to the whole of the UK.
• The Bill will include a safeguarding mechanism for parties to appeal where necessary.
• These powers will be exclusively for use on national security grounds, and this stipulation will be written into law. The government will not be able to use these powers to intervene in business transactions for broader economic reasons.
• Inward investment stimulates economic growth in every part of the UK. In 2019/20, over 39,000 jobs were created in England thanks to foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with over 26,000 coming outside London. Almost 3,000 were created in Scotland, and more than 2,500 in Wales and 2,000 in Northern Ireland respectively.
• FDI also promotes job creation across the economy. In 2019/20, 10,224 jobs were created in the software and computer services sector thanks to FDI projects, 4,750 jobs in the food and drink sector, 5,109 jobs in electronics and communication, 2,225 jobs in the advanced engineering and supply chain sector, 3,212 jobs in the automotive sector, and 1,522 jobs in the aerospace sector.
• There have been 12 public interest interventions on national security grounds since 2002.
• The amendment to section 243 (the ‘overseas disclosure gateway’) of Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 will remove the restriction on UK public authorities, including the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), disclosing to overseas public authorities information that comes to them in the exercise of their merger functions. This will strengthen the CMA’s ability to protect UK markets and consumers as it takes a more active role internationally.
• Barring narrow exceptions, the government’s current powers are limited to mergers involving target enterprises with a turnover of £70 million or a combined share of supply of 25% or more. Unlike the Enterprise Act 2002, the National Security and Investment Bill does not include minimum turnover and share of supply thresholds.
• Assets in scope of the Bill are land, tangible moveable property, and (covering intellectual property) any idea, information, or technique with industrial, commercial or other economic value. Things that are not in scope:
  1. Transactions involving stakes of below 15% in entities unless such a holding (alone or in combination with other rights or interests) amounts to the acquisition of “material influence over the policy of the entity”
  2. Transactions involving an existing holding in an entity of over 25% moving to a new level of 26-50%
  3. Transactions involving an existing holding in an entity of over 50% moving to a new level of 51-74%
  4. Transactions involving an existing holding in an entity of 75% or more, moving to a new level of 76-100%
  5. Assets bought by consumers – e.g. personal computer software, mobile phones, GPS.

University students will be able to travel home to spend Christmas with their families once the national restrictions end on 2 December, following steps set out in new Government guidance published today.
 
In order to travel home safely, students in England will be required to follow the current national restrictions in place until 2 December, completing this four-week period in their term-time accommodation. 
 
From 3 December to 9 December, which will be known as the ‘student travel window’, students will be allowed to travel home on staggered departure dates set by universities, who will work with other institutions in the region to manage pressure on transport infrastructure.

The student travel window will mean students can travel having just completed the four-week period of national restrictions, reducing the risk of transmission to family and friends at home.

Universities should move learning online by 9 December so students can continue their education while also having the option to return home to study from there.  

As announced by the Prime Minister this week, the Government will also work closely with universities to establish mass testing capacity. Tests will be offered to as many students as possible before they travel home for Christmas, with universities in areas of high prevalence prioritised. This will provide further reassurance that where students test negative, they can return home safely and minimise the risk of passing coronavirus on to their loved ones.  

If a student tests positive before their departure they will need to remain in self-isolation for the required period of ten days. Moving all learning online by 9 December gives enough time for students to complete the isolation period and return home for Christmas.  

The guidance delivers on the Government’s pledge to ensure students can be with their families at Christmas while limiting transmission of the virus.

Universities Minister Michelle Donelan said:  

We know this Christmas will feel different, and following this incredibly difficult year we are delivering on our commitment to get students back to their loved ones as safely as possible for the holidays. 

We have worked really hard to find a way to do this for students, while limiting the risk of transmission. Now it is vital they follow these measures to protect their families and communities, and for universities to make sure students have all the wellbeing support they need, especially those who stay on campus over the break.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries said:

The mass movement of students across the country at the end of term presents a really significant challenge within the COVID-19 response.

The measures announced today will help minimise that risk and help students get home to their families as safely as possible for Christmas. It is crucial that students follow the guidance in order to protect their families and the communities they return to.

Universities are expected to make plans to ensure students can travel home safely at the end of term, working with local public health officials and transport operators. 

Students should follow the Government’s travel guidance, which  includes wearing face coverings unless exempt, avoiding busy routes and times, and limiting car sharing with only their household or bubble where possible.  
 
We are working with the other governments across the UK to ensure that all students, no matter where they live or study are treated fairly and can travel home as safely as possible to keep all our communities safe.

English students at universities in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, should follow the guidance relevant to where they are living before returning home. When they return to England, they should follow their local guidance for their home area. Students returning to their home in England who have not completed the 4 weeks of national restrictions should undertake at least 14 days of restricted contact either before or after return home to minimise their risk of transmission.

Universities have also been asked to provide additional help and practical support to students, particularly for students who remain on campus over Christmas, which can include care leavers, international students and students estranged from their families. Universities should ensure they are properly cared for and can access affordable food, medical and cleaning supplies if needed.
 
The Government has provided over £9 million to leading mental health charities to help them expand and reach those most in need, as well as working closely with the Office for Students to provide up to £3 million to fund Student Space, a new mental health support platform.  
 
The department also worked with the Office for Students to clarify that providers were able to use existing funds, worth around £23 million per month for April to July this year and £256 million for Academic Year 2020/21, towards hardship support. 

The UK will go further than ever before to clamp down on illegal deforestation and protect rainforests, the government has confirmed today, thanks to world-leading new laws being introduced through the landmark Environment Bill (11 November).

The move coincides with the publication of a new report setting out government’s approach to tackling deforestation linked to UK demand for products such as cocoa, rubber, soya, and palm oil. The report responds to the recommendations from the independent Global Resource Initiative Taskforce, which consulted over 200 leading businesses and organisations.

Combined, the package of measures will ensure that greater resilience, traceability and sustainability are built into the UK’s supply chains by working in partnership with other countries and supporting farmers to transition to more sustainable food and land use systems.

There were more than 60,000 responses to the government’s consultation, with 99% in favour of legislating on this critical issue.

One of the leading new measures is the introduction of a new law in the Environment Bill which will require greater due diligence from businesses, and make it illegal for UK businesses to use key commodities if they have not been produced in line with local laws protecting forests and other natural ecosystems.

80% of deforestation is linked to the expansion of agriculture, with land being cleared to make way for grazing animals and to grow crops. The UK imports over half of the food it consumes, and while in global terms the UK is a relatively small consumer of forest risk commodities such as cocoa, rubber, soya, and palm oil, we are leaving an ever-larger footprint on the world’s forests.

International Environment Minister, Lord Goldsmith, said:

In every conceivable way we depend on the natural world around us. Rainforests cool the planet, provide clean air and water, and are a haven for some of the most endangered species on Earth – and so protecting them must be a core priority.

Our new due diligence law is one piece of a much bigger package of measures that we are putting in place to tackle deforestation. Our intent is not just to take world-leading domestic measures, but to build a global alliance of countries committed to working together to protect the world’s precious forests.

Last month, nearly 80 countries signed the Leader’s Pledge for Nature, committing to reverse the destruction of nature by 2030. The UK played a key role in crafting the pledge, and as hosts of the next and all important UN Climate Conference, we have a chance to turn those powerful words into action.

CEO of Tesco UK & ROI, Jason Tarry, said:

Due diligence has an important role to play in halting deforestation, fighting climate change and protecting communities.

We welcome these new measures as an important first step towards creating a level playing field in the UK, aligned with Tesco’s goal of zero deforestation. We hope this encourages all businesses to do the right thing.

Sir Ian Cheshire, the chair of the independent taskforce, said:

We are at an extraordinary inflection point – governments are having to invest in recovery and have choices about how to invest to build back better. One of the ways we can do this is through our supply chains and what we buy.

The Government’s Response to our GRI Report recognises the responsibility of the UK to ensure we are not importing deforestation and contributing to further environmental crisis, but doing so in partnership with other countries to help them make this transition to sustainability.

The GRI Taskforce will continue to support and advise Government towards ambitious outcomes as it delivers on these commitments in the run up to the UN Climate Change Conference next year.

Executive Director of Tropical Forest Alliance, Justin Adams, said:

We welcome the recommendations of the GRI report which recognise both the importance but also the complexity of addressing tropical deforestation.

It’s heartening to see the UK Government already adopting some of the recommendations with the inclusion of due diligence legislation in the upcoming Environment Bill and building a new approach to partnership with forest countries with the Sustainable Land Use and Commodity Trade Dialogue as the leading component of the UK’s Nature Campaign for the upcoming UN Climate Summit in Glasgow next year.

CEO of the Green Finance Institute, Rhian Mari Thomas, said:

The success of this portfolio of initiatives from the GRI provides the UK with the opportunity to demonstrate global leadership and to catalyse much-needed change. Reversing tropical rain forest loss is essential to avoiding global temperature increases and biodiversity loss in the near future. The Green Finance Institute welcomes the ambition of the GRI recommendations and encourages government, business and the financial sector to match this ambition with action.

Through private and public sector collaboration we can support the transition away from supply chains which contribute to deforestation and land conversion, and move to a system which rewards the protection and restoration of forests and biodiversity – whether that be the advancement of the Environment Bill or government-backed financial solutions which enable UK businesses and banks to support sustainable supply chains.

The Environment Bill, the UK’s landmark legislation to transform our environment, returned to Parliament on Tuesday 3 November. The Bill sets out a world-leading vision to allow our environment to prosper for future generations and ensure that we maintain and enhance our world-leading environmental protections.

Today’s report also details the Government’s wider package of measures to support countries and companies looking to reduce commodity drive deforestation, including through future trade policies, public procurement, and the development of a sustainable Food Service Sector Action Plan. Igniting change in the financial sector also features heavily in the government’s approach, including scaling up investment in sustainable land-use.

Alongside the domestic measures set out in today’s report, the UK Government will capitalise on its forthcoming presidency of the UN Climate Change summit next year in Glasgow to accelerate a global transition to more sustainable supply chains by bringing together producer and consumer countries of forest risk commodities to share perspectives and take action.

Today’s announcement sets the tone for the ambitions of COP26 whilst driving forward a transition to sustainable patterns of production and consumption, a key commitment in the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, signed at the UN General Assembly in September this year.

Further background  

• The law will also mean businesses will need to be more transparent about where they source key commodities from, and businesses that fail to comply will be subject to fines, with the precise level to be set at a later date through secondary legislation.
• We will move swiftly to bring this legislation into force, laying the necessary secondary legislation shortly after COP26, where we will be forging an alliance of governments from around the world to agree a new approach to tackling this problem.
• Almost 50% of all recent tropical deforestation was caused by illegal deforestation for commercial agriculture and timber plantations – but this is much higher in some regions, with over 90% of deforestation being illegal in some of the world’s most important forests.
• Defra, BEIS and FCDO jointly commissioned the Global Resource Initiative (GRI) in 2018 and in March 2020, delivering on a commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to find ways of reducing the UK’s environmental footprint. The taskforce published its final report in March 2020, which featured 14 recommendations for ambitious actions to reduce the climate and environment impacts of key UK supply chains. 
• The GRI Taskforce has looked at ways in which the production, trade and consumption of commodity agricultural and forestry products needs to change to ensure it is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable for all including farmers, foresters, communities and indigenous peoples, and in particular, women. There is a specific focus on the impacts of deforestation linked to key commodities for the UK including soya, palm oil, timber, pulp & paper, beef & leather, rubber, and cocoa.