TIER UPDATE 24 November 2020
Test to Release: testing strategy for international arrivals (England) Today the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps has announced that from 15 December 2020, passengers arriving into England from countries not featured on the government’s travel corridor list will have the option to take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test after 5 days of self-isolation, with a negative result releasing them from the need to isolate.
Those opting into the scheme will have to book and pay for a coronavirus (COVID-19) test from a private provider on the GOV.UK list – this is to ensure the NHS Test and Trace testing capacity is protected. Those who choose to book a test, will need to state this on their passenger locator form prior to arriving and then go straight into self-isolation as usual. If they choose to opt in after arrival, they will need to resubmit their passenger locator form.
Global Travel Taskforce recommendations The Global Travel Taskforce recommendation report and a Written Ministerial Statement which sets out the key recommendations has been published today. The report recognises the importance of international travel to the UK and the impact of COVID-19 it also contains a section on International Travel Recovery Measures. Overall the report makes 14 key recommendations to ensure clear public health measures, increase demand safely and take the lead on global standards. These include:
Clear public health measures Introduce a “test to release” scheme in England to allow participating travellers from non- exempt countries to reduce their period of self-isolation Develop a pre-departure testing proposal with partner countries on a bilateral basis
Increasing demand safely Launch a public health information campaign to inform UK departing passengers and international visitors about travel requirements Deliver a system of assurance of air travel, led by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to evidence the industry’s compliance with international guidance, helping increase consumer confidence and demonstrating the UK’s global leadership Deliver an effective communications campaign, alongside the CAA’s system of assurance, working with the CAA and Public Health England (PHE) to publicise the UK industry’s compliance with global health standards, to boost consumer confidence and provide reassurance to encourage UK-based residents that global aviation is open, safe and secure Develop a Tourism Recovery Plan setting out the transformation and growth of the sector over the next five years as part of our economic recovery Develop an Aviation Recovery Plan to consider the outlook for the sector in the medium term once these short-term measures have taken effect, including on ensuring sustainable economic growth and delivering on our long term aims on net zero and connectivity. A flagship overseas marketing campaign led by VisitBritain: promoting the UK as an attractive and safe place to visit to create demand for travel to the UK and converting demand into bookings Work with industry to explore the potential for “tour bubbles” by extending the model successfully used for sports teams to cover inbound group tours
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Investigate measures to facilitate safe transit, for example where passengers need to transfer through another country on a longer journey to avoid the need for passengers arriving from low-risk countries to self-isolate Study the feasibility of short stay exemptions for business activity Publish the criteria for when cruises can restart and agree to implement the phased approach to restart when the public health advice is that it is safe to do so
Leading on global standards Continue to drive forward work both in ICAO and with international partners on a bilateral and multilateral basis to deliver a shared global understanding of how to integrate a range of risk mitigation measures, such as increased testing, to reduce reliance on self-isolation or quarantine, which will help civil aviation recover Advocate for the development of a global framework for the validation of tests and vaccination records as ICAO further develops its guidance on restart and recovery through 2021.
DCMS will be leading on the Tourism Recovery Plan and Tour Bubbles and would we welcome any further feedback on this.
Weekly review COVID measures in Scotland The First Minister of Scotland updated the Parliament on her weekly review of COVID measures and the different tier levels around Scotland. The First Minister confirmed that the Scottish Government is not proposing any changes to the council coronavirus levels today. A full list of current COVID protection levels by area in Scotland can be found here.
Other Government updates: The JBC methodology paper on Travel Corridor decisions has been made available.
COVID-19 Situation update 24 November 2020 To see the number of cases of COVID-19 in England and the UK visit the UK COVID-19 dashboard. To see the number of cases globally see the World Health Organisation dashboard.
TOURISM ALLIANCE UPDATE 23/11
Travel Corridor Methodology The Government has also published the methodology that the Joint Biosecurity Centre uses used to determine whether a country should be on the Air Corridor List. The key criteria are: o Weekly incidence rate per 100,000 population o test positivity o imported cases o rates of change
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-risk-assessment-methodology-for- inbound-international-travel/covid-19-risk-assessment-methodology-for-inbound- international-travel
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Third Grant
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The guidance of the SEISS has been update with information on how those eligible can claim the third grant. The key information is that: o You can make your claim for the third grant from 30 November 2020. o You must make your claim on or before 29 January 2021. o To make a claim for the third grant your business must have been impacted by coronavirus on or after 1 November 2020. o You can make a claim for the third grant if you’re eligible, even if you did not make a claim for the first or second. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-self-employment-income- support-scheme
There is also new guidance from HMRC on how your trading conditions affect your eligibility for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
To be able to claim for the third grant, you must either:
o be currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus o have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
“Reduced Demand” means
o have fewer customers or clients than you’d normally expect, resulting in reduced activity due to social distancing or government restrictions o have one or more contracts that have been cancelled and not replaced o carried out less work due to supply chain disruptions
“Temporarily Unable to Trade” means
o your business has had to close due to government restrictions o you’ve been instructed to shield or self-isolate in-line with NHS guidelines and are unable to work from home (if you’ve been abroad and have to self-isolate, this does not count) o you’ve tested positive for coronavirus and are unable to work o you cannot work due to parental caring responsibilities, for example as a result of school or childcare facility closures
You must also:
o intend to continue to trade o reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to reduced demand or your inability to trade https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-your-trading-conditions-affect-your-eligibility-for-the- self-employment-income-support-scheme
The guidance on making a claim has also been updated
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self- employment-income-support-scheme
New Tier Posters
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The Government has produced new posters for each of the three Tiers to reflect yesterday’s announcement regarding rule changes. These pdfs are an excellent way of informing both staff and customers on the rules and restrictions that are in operation in the areas that your member’s business is located.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tier-posters-medium-high-and-very-high
ONS IPS Seminars Finally, this is not Coronavirus related but it will be of interest to those that concentrate on the inbound market. ONS are holding a webinar for travel and tourism statistics from the International Passenger Survey. This event will be an excellent opportunity to hear about the recently released quarter 2 IPS data as well as progress on the travel and tourism review that we contributed to last year
The seminars will include presentations outlining the methodology and data acquired for quarter 2 of 2020 during the pandemic. There will also be time to raise questions on travel and tourism statistics.
The ONS will be holding two separate webinars:
o Thursday 3rd December 2020 – 10.30am – 12pm o Friday 11th December 2020 – 10am – 11.30am
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