Which Businesses and Venues Must Close from 5 November

To reduce social contact, new government’s regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services.

COVID-19 case numbers are rising rapidly across the whole of the UK and in other countries. On Thursday 5 November new national restrictions will replace the Local Covid Alert Level measures.

Businesses and venues which must close

These include:

non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, and market stalls selling non-essential goods. These venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services
hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and drink for takeaway (before 10pm; and not including alcohol), click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery
accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites. Except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for homeless people, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes
leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, golf courses, fitness and dance studios, climbing walls, archery, driving, and shooting ranges
entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, soft play centres and areas, circuses, fairgrounds, funfairs, zoos and other animal attractions, water parks and theme parks. Indoor attractions at botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open
personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons, and tattoo shops, spas, massage clinics, body and skin piercing services must also close. It is also prohibited to provide these services in other peoples’ homes
community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities as set out below Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect
places of worship, apart from for the purposes of independent prayer, for funerals or funeral commemorative events, to broadcast an act of worship, to provide essential voluntary services or urgent public support services, for registered childcare, and to host permitted gatherings.

These businesses and places are permitted to be open for a small number of exempt activities, including:

education and training (for schools to use sports, leisure and community facilities where that is part of their normal provision)
childcare purposes and supervised activities for children (in community centres and halls, and places of worship; and supervised activities for children in indoor sports and leisure facilities)
hosting blood donation sessions and food banks (in community centres and halls, places of worship, and libraries)
to provide medical treatment
libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect
for elite sports persons to train and compete (in indoor and outdoor sports facilities), and professional dancers and choreographers to work (in fitness and dance studios)
for training and rehearsal without an audience (in theatres and concert halls)
for the purposes of professional film and TV filming (in retail, entertainment and leisure venues, as well as visitor attractions)

There is full guidance on the rules concerning the closing of certain businesses and venues in England.

Businesses and venues which can remain open

Other businesses and venues are permitted to stay open, following COVID-19 Secure guidelines. This includes those providing essential goods, including:

essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, hardware stores, building merchants and off-licences.
petrol Stations, car repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses.
banks, building societies, post offices, short-term loan providers and money transfer businesses
funeral directors
laundrettes and dry cleaners
medical and dental services
vets and pet shops
agricultural supplies shops
storage and distribution facilities
car parks, public toilets and motorway service areas.
outdoor playgrounds

Public Services

The majority of public services will continue and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:

the NHS and medical services like GPs and dentists
opticians
Jobcentre Plus sites
courts and probation services
Civil Registrations Offices
passport and visa services
services provided to victims of crime
waste or Recycling Centres

Going to work

To help contain the virus, everyone who can work effectively from home should do so. Where people cannot do so – including, but not limited to, people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction, or manufacturing – they should continue to travel to their workplace. This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employers.

Public sector employees working in essential services, including childcare or education, should continue to go into work.

Where it is necessary for you to work in other people’s homes – for example, for nannies, cleaners or tradespeople – you can do so. Otherwise, you should avoid meeting for work in a private home or garden, where COVID-19 Secure measures may not be in place.

The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.

Financial support

Workers in any part of the UK can retain their job, even if their employer cannot afford to pay them, and be paid at least 80% of their salary up to £2500 a month.

The flexibility of the current Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be retained to allow employees to continue to work where they can.

Employers small or large, charitable or non-profit are eligible and because more businesses will need to close, they will now be asked to pay just National Insurance and Pensions contributions for their staff during the month of November – making this more generous than the support currently on offer.

The Job Support Scheme will not be introduced until after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.

Wherever you live, you may be able to get financial help through the: