Published
Wed, Dec 22, 2021, 20:25
- Grants of £6,000 per venue are "nowhere near enough," said the chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association.
Nightlife businesses across the UK are facing bankruptcy, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), an association that represents more than 1,200 bars, clubs and live music venues.
Speaking to the Guardian, NTIA chief executive Michael Kill said the government's decision to skip a national lockdown in England—a scenario that would have resulted in more financial aid—is "crippling" the industry.
"If they want us to close, let's just do it, and put in the support we need," he said. "But at the moment we're in 'limbo land'—they are allowing us to open, but they're telling people not to come to us and to stay at home."
Earlier this month, it became mandatory for clubs in England to require proof of vaccination or negative lateral flow tests for entry while residents have been asked to work from home. Meanwhile, clubs in Wales have been ordered to close from December 27th onwards.
The UK's current £1 billion fund for the hospitality sector, which allocates a one-off payment of £6,000 per venue, is "nowhere near enough" for the critical holiday period, Kill continued.
"It is almost a drop in the ocean for us, it is almost an insult for an industry that has sacrificed so much in the last three weeks," he said. "We are going to see businesses go under and jobs lost. Some businesses make huge amounts of money on New Year's Eve and Christmas, money that they need to pay for January."
Read the Guardian's story for Kill's full comments.