U.K. Businesses Call for Clear Roadmap to Reopening the Economy

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. should work with businesses to create a clear and effective plan for the reopening of the economy, the country's biggest business lobby group said.

The government should give firms clarity over what will count as higher risk activities and whether there will be a return to tiered restrictions, the Confederation of British Industry said in a letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Monday. The roadmap should be published alongside details of how long support measures will last and in what form, it said.

Many businesses are struggling for survival after enduring the worst recession in three centuries last year. A further contraction is expected this quarter after renewed measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 shuttered large swathes of the economy.

The group also called for authorities to identify what conditions must be met for restrictions to be loosened, how vaccines and mass testing could contribute to reopening and plans for particularly vulnerable industries like travel and hospitality.

“Businesses are currently completely in the dark when planning for the weeks and months ahead and this is hindering investment,” CBI Director-General Tony Danker said. “Let's move now to a plan for 2021 that is detailed, practical and instills confidence.”

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