Pubs and Restaurant Owners Take the Government’s COVID-19 Indoor Dining Rules to Court

Pub and restaurant leaders in England are taking the government to court over the imposed indoor dining ban.

A High Court judge will start hearing arguments on April 19 on whether venues should be allowed to use indoor seating for guests as the country continues its reopening efforts following coronavirus lockdowns, reports The Guardian. The case has been expedited.

On April 12, pubs and restaurants reopened to customers, the same date as other non-essential businesses, but they were only allowed to host guests in outdoor areas. The government has said that no indoor seating can take place before May 17.

However, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester and a co-founder of Parklife festival Sacha Lord, and Punch Taverns founder and a former Pizza Express boss Hugh Osmond are calling on the courts to overrule the decision and open indoor dining to the public, The Guardian reports.

The pair say that there is no justification or scientific basis for venues to be kept closed for five weeks after non-essential retailers in England were allowed to open, especially given the government’s own data showed that hospitality was not responsible for a rise in infections.

“This data definitively shows that hospitality was not the major source of infections,” Osmond told The Guardian.

“At the start of this pandemic there was a totally understandable assumption that hospitality venues might be responsible for the spread of infections. The vision of drunken people in crowded pubs is an easy and obvious target that people understand,” Osmond told BBC Radio 4. However, he says that further analysis proved that wasn’t the case. He added that the action would have to beat a “high bar” to show that the government’s actions were not reasonable.  

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the country could not be complacent with reopening the economy, and caution was necessary, when he announced the reopening plans.

A government spokesperson told The Guardian: “We have been clear that we want this lockdown to be the last and to achieve that our approach to cautiously easing restrictions is informed by the best available science and the latest clinical evidence.”

The anonymous spokesperson said that the government had supported the hospitality sector through grant and furlough schemes, and tax cuts and business rates relief.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, hundreds of pub owners are joining the fight against insurance companies who aren’t paying out COVID-19 related claims. Following a High Court ruling upholding a lawsuit over the matter, more than 600 restaurants are pressuring insurer FBD to honour its policies, threatening lawsuits if they don’t pay out, according to Breaking News Ireland.

Do you own a pub or restaurant, or are you a frequent diner? What do you think about the indoor dining ban? Let us know in the comments section!

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