The Prime Minister has announced a national lockdown and instructed people to stay at home to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
Businesses and venues
- Non-essential retail, hospitality and personal care services must close, or remain closed.
- Restaurants can continue delivery, takeaway or click-and-collect of food and non-alcoholic drinks, but venues will no longer be able to serve takeaway or click-and-collect alcohol.
- Essential shops and garden centres can remain open. Entertainment venues and animal attractions such as zoos must close, but the outdoor areas of venues such as heritage homes and botanical gardens can remain open, to be used for exercise. Playgrounds may also remain open.
- Places of worship can also remain open, but you may only visit with your household.
- Indoor and outdoor sports facilities including sports courts, gyms, golf courses, swimming pools, and riding arenas must also close. Elite sport and disabled sport can continue, as can PE lessons for those children attending school.
Everyone should follow the new rules from now.
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Prime Minister announces 7-week national lockdown in England (courtesy of LCCI)
- Under the new rules, people in England can only leave home if they have a ‘reasonable excuse,’ such as for work, education or buying essentials, as set out in the guidance.
- All hospitality must close, except for food takeaway services.
- Colleges and primary and secondary schools must move to remote learning until February half term, except for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. Nurseries and early years providers will remain open.
- University students on some courses may return to face-to-face learning. Students who do not study these courses should start their term online until at least Mid-February.
- Childcare and support bubbles can continue.
- Clinically extremely vulnerable people should stay at home as much as possible and only leave for exercise and health appointments.
- The measures will be put in law and voted on in Parliament on Wednesday 6th January.
- The measures will be reviewed on 15th February, with ministers hoping to lift the restrictions and return to a tiered system when half term is over in the week of 22nd February.
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New grants announced by Chancellor for businesses
- The Chancellor has announced £4.6bn in additional grants for businesses following the introduction of a new national lockdown.
- One-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property.
- £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
- £6,000 for businesses with an RV between £15,000 and £51,000
- £9,000 for businesses with an RV of £51,000 or more
- £594 million discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businesses. These schemes will be distributed by local authorities
- These grants are in addition to the Additional Restrictions Grant funding for Local Authorities and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month.
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Hounslow Update
Approximately 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 have no symptoms, but can still pass the virus to others without knowing.
Rapid, asymptomatic testing is now available for members of the community - such as key workers - using ‘rapid tests’ or ‘lateral flow tests’, to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community and bring down the current high rates of infection in our Borough.
You can book your rapid test at:
- Hounslow House
- Heston Library
Other sites are due to open for pre-booked rapid test appointments from next week onwards and further details will be provided soon.
Sites will be open for pre-booked appointments only from 8am-4pm, seven days a week, for approximately six weeks.
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Did you know that you can get tested for COVID-19 at home? If you have COVID-19 symptoms you can order a home test kit simply by calling 119 or online. Remember, you must self-isolate until you get a negative result.
Other tests include;
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Going to a local walk-through test centre in Feltham and Heston, or
- Visiting a Mobile Testing Site
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Vaccination centre - help need
The Council urgently need 18 room dividers (approximately 1.8m high and 1.2m wide) for a number of vaccination centres across the borough including the Chiswick Health Centre. They are impossible to get hold of at the moment – in very high demand and the centres cannot operate without them.
If you are able to help please contact:
Chanel Herdman
Primary Care Delivery Manager
NHS Hounslow CCG
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Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (courtesy of HMRC)
You can now submit your claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for periods in December. These must be made by 14th January 2021.
Make sure you have the latest information by joining the live Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme webinar, which includes:
- who can claim
- who you can claim for
- how to calculate what you can claim
- how to make a claim.
We will continue to update our webinars to reflect the latest information as it becomes available.
We are also running monthly webinars on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme. Get the latest information on:
- who can claim
- who you can claim for
- how to make a claim
- what you may be entitled to, and more.
During these interactive webinars you can ask questions using the on-screen text box and download handouts giving detailed examples and links to more information.
Afterwards we’ll also send you a link to a video recording of the webinars, in case you'd like to see any of it again.
We will continue to update our webinars to reflect the latest information as it becomes available.
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During this current lockdown, Clayton Hotel Chiswick will remain OPEN for essential travel, and will continue to deliver safe hospitality.
Please supply an email at the time of reservation, once again outlining that your guests are staying for essential travel, and not leisure stays.
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Brunel University London is now a provider of higher and degree apprenticeships, helping local and national businesses upskill their workforce.
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November issue of Let's Talk Business out now
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West London Local Chambers & Hounslow Chamber of Commerce are the primary support, networking, and representation organisation in west London for SMEs.
We support the interests, the commercial aspirations and the investment from businesses in Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham - the Chamber is the voice for all businesses located in the borough
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