Policy background
- Covid-19 has affected businesses across the economy. Many businesses have had to cease trading for several months, and others have had to significantly modify their operations. As the economy starts to re-open, the Government wants to support recovery, help businesses adjust to new ways of working and create new jobs. This Act introduces a number of urgent measures to help businesses succeed in these new and challenging conditions over the coming months, and to remove short-term obstacles that could get in their way. Almost all measures are temporary, with some limited exceptions.
Outdoor Seating
- This Act includes temporary measures to support businesses selling food and drink through economic recovery as lockdown restrictions are lifted but social distancing guidelines remain in place. Once cafes, pubs and restaurants are permitted to open, current social distancing guidelines will have considerable impact on the capacity to accommodate customers.
- The measures in this Act are designed to support businesses selling food and drink such as cafes, pubs and restaurants by introducing a temporary fast-track process for these businesses to obtain permission from the local council for the placement of furniture such as tables and chairs on the pavement outside their premises. This will enable them to maximise their capacity whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines. The current process for businesses to obtain these licences can be costly and time-consuming. This Act includes temporary measures to place a cap on the application fee for businesses, enforcement and revocation powers so councils can protect public safety and amenity, and a new 14-day determination period, ensuring that businesses can obtain licences in a timely and cost effective manner aiding their financial recovery.
- The Act imposes a clear requirement that accessibility for highways users, in particular disabled people, should be protected, which is why these licences will be subject to a no-obstruction condition which seeks to prevent unacceptable obstructions. When local authorities are determining whether furniture put on the highway would be, or already is, an unacceptable obstruction, they must also have specific regard to the needs of disabled people, and to any recommended distances required for access by disabled people as set out in guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
Alcohol Licensing
- The measures included in this Act modify provisions in the Licensing Act 2003 to provide automatic extensions to premises licences that only permit sales of alcohol for consumption on the premises ("on-sales") to allow sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises ("off-sales"). It will be a temporary measure to boost the economy, with provisions lasting until the end of September 2021.
- These measures will make it possible for licensed premises that have only an on-sales licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises. This will allow businesses to trade whilst keeping social distancing measures in place inside.
- The provisions remove the need for any application to be made, therefore no fee will need to be paid. This will deliver savings to businesses, as well as providing them with certainty about how they are able to trade. It will also reduce the burden on local authorities and the police, who will not need to scrutinize any applications for licence variations from the premises affected by these measures. Licensees who have had an application for an off-sales permission refused or had their off-sales permission excluded by variation or at review within the last three years, will be excluded from this licence extension. This is a safeguard to ensure that where it has recently been decided that the licensee should not have the permission, they do not receive it through this legislation.
- The hours in which off-sales of alcohol may be made under the new permission are when the licensed premises are open for on-sales, subject to two limitations. Firstly, every off-sale must be made at a pre-cut off time. The pre-cut off time is any time between when the premises first open for the purposes of selling alcohol for consumption on the premises and 11pm. If on-sales terminate earlier than 11 p.m., that earlier time will apply will also apply to off-sales. Secondly, there is also an exception where there is an outdoor area where the times in which the sale of alcohol is permitted differ from the times in which sales for consumption on the premises are permitted. In these circumstances, the new off-sales permission does not apply at the times when the premises licence does not allow sales of alcohol for consumption in the outdoor areas of the premises.
- The provisions will also apply temporary conditions to licences where there is pre-existing permission for off-sales. The conditions will set the hours of off-sales in the same manner as described in paragraph 9 above to match those for on-sales, allow off-sales of alcohol in open containers and allow deliveries of alcohol to residential or work buildings. Those conditions will suspend existing conditions that are more restrictive. So, for example, an existing condition that allowed off-sales only in closed containers would be suspended to allow sales in open containers.
- If there were problems of crime and disorder, public nuisance, public safety or the protection of children arising from how the premises operated using the new permission, any responsible authority, including the police or environmental health, could apply for a new off-sales review. The off-sales review process is modelled on the existing summary review process. In the event that an off-sales review is triggered, it will only relate to off-sales authorised by virtue of these provisions, or conditions which have effect by virtue of these provisions: it cannot be used to revoke the existing licence or modify pre-existing licence conditions.
Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)
- The BBLS was designed in response to the ongoing need for small businesses to rapidly access loans as a result of the economic disruption that has been caused by the outbreak of Covid-19.
- Usually, lenders providing small business loans require those businesses to provide extensive evidence of past financial data and examine their business plans and financial forecasts. Some of these small business loans are also subject to extensive and complex information disclosure requirements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA), its subordinate legislation and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules because they fall within the definition of regulated credit agreements. However, this is not appropriate in the current circumstances, first because of the significant uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which makes such forecasts challenging, and because these processes are time and resource intensive for the lender and so would inhibit lending at the scale and pace required to respond to this crisis.
- Instead, reflecting the current circumstances, the scheme allows lenders to rely on self-certification by the business that they meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme and that they can afford to pay back the loan. It also provides for simpler information disclosure requirements to the borrower. However, lenders will continue to carry out fraud and know-your-customer checks.
- For lenders to be able to change their lending practices in this way, it has been necessary for the Government to make legislative changes. The first set of legislative changes was effected through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Order 2020 (S.I 2020/480), which amended the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 ("the Regulated Activities Order"). This amending Order came into force on 4 May 2020, the day the BBLS was launched. The effect of this amending order is that, with the exception of debt collection activities, loans made under the BBLS of £25,000 or less to individuals (such as sole traders), unincorporated bodies of persons or partnerships of fewer than four partners will not be regulated credit agreements and therefore not subject to the majority of provisions in the CCA, its subordinate legislation and the FCA’s rules on consumer credit. This removes a range of regulatory obligations on the lender, including around detailed information disclosure provisions and affordability tests, that would otherwise have inhibited the operation of the scheme.
- This Act makes further legislative amendments necessary for the BBLS to operate effectively. The Act removes the application of sections 140A to 140C of the CCA, referred to as the "unfair relationship provisions", to BBLS loans. These provisions could not be disapplied through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Order 2020. The unfair relationship provisions give the court broad powers to make an order where it determines that the relationship between the lender and the borrower is unfair to the borrower. The unfair relationship provisions currently apply to all loans to individuals (such as sole traders), unincorporated bodies of persons and partnerships of fewer than four partners under the BBLS, including loans of more than £25,000 to this group of borrowers.
- Lenders have indicated that if the unfair relationship provisions were to continue to apply to BBLS loans, they would need to continue with many of the processes, in particular the affordability tests, which lengthen the loan application process, or face an unreasonable level of legal risk that the courts will subsequently conclude that the loan agreement gave rise to an unfair relationship – particularly if there was little prospect of the loan being repaid. The disapplication of the unfair relationships provisions to loans made under the BBLS allows lenders to shorten the application process in line with the intention of the Scheme. Accordingly, and in order to facilitate lenders offering BBLS loans at the scale and pace required, it is necessary to introduce this measure to amend section 140A of the CCA with the practical effect of disapplying the unfair relationship provisions for all loans made under the BBLS to individuals (such as sole traders), unincorporated bodies of persons and partnerships of fewer than four partners.
Goods, passenger and public service vehicles
Certificates of exemption for public service and goods vehicles
- A test certificate issued within the past year is ordinarily required to use a heavy vehicle – a lorry, bus or coach – on a road. The vehicle testing regime was suspended from late March to early July 2020 due to Covid-19, creating a significant backlog of vehicle tests.
- The Act amends existing powers to enable the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to manage this unprecedented demand for testing in a manner that prioritises road safety (e.g. to test older vehicles on schedule while delaying tests of safer vehicles). This will permanently broaden an already existing power to grant certificates of temporary exemption. The policy intention is only to use the expanded powers in relation to exceptional circumstances.
- Driver licensing is a matter reserved to Westminster for Scotland and Wales and devolved for Northern Ireland. However, the arrangements for licence renewal are very similar across the United Kingdom.
- Drivers applying for a first licence or renewing a lorry or bus licence at age 45 or over are required to provide a medical report. This report is known as a D4 in Great Britain and a DLM1 in Northern Ireland. Parts of this have to be filled in and signed by a qualified doctor. It is the responsibility of the applicant to arrange and pay for its completion.
- The medical report is a general assessment covering various aspects of the applicant’s health that may impact on their fitness to drive. Some elements of the report are generally required to be carried out face to face, such as eyesight and blood pressure tests.
- The report provides for a formal screening of an applicant’s medical circumstances to address the greater road safety risks involved in driving larger vehicles as well as the longer time that professional drivers spend at the wheel. The requirement for a medical report at the age of 45 and over reflects the potential impact of age on the health of drivers.
- The medical report itself does not determine fitness to drive if a medical condition is identified through the process. The relevant licensing authority will consider the information provided by the medical report and, if necessary, carry out a medical investigation before deciding whether a licence should be granted. If appropriate, a licence may be issued for 1, 2 or 3 years to allow for regular review of the condition.
- There remains an obligation on licence applicants to make a declaration about their health on the licence application form.
- Although it does not form part of their NHS contract, around 80% of medical reports are completed by NHS GPs on a private basis. In the current conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, NHS doctors have not been available to meet the demand for completing these reports to support licence applications.
- If licences are not issued there would be a substantial reduction in the availability of lorry and bus drivers and, potentially, drivers of emergency vehicles who are subject to lorry and bus licensing requirements given the size of the vehicles. In the case of lorry drivers in particular, this will in turn cause disruption to supply lines that are vital to the response to the pandemic and potentially put thousands of people out of work. The loss of these drivers will be in addition to the reduction in the workforce caused by drivers being off sick with the virus itself.
- However, issuing or renewing licences without a medical report presents a potential road safety risk. This is likely to persist beyond the period of the Covid-19 pandemic given the majority of drivers are granted a 5-year licence under existing legislation. Because of the urgency of the situation in Great Britain, a scheme to issue 1-year licences without a medical report was announced on 17 April 2020 and implemented fully on 5 May 2020.
- In doing this, the Government has had to balance the need to keep drivers on the road in the current crisis and the risks to road safety. The scheme therefore focuses on drivers currently working in the transport sector who are vital to maintaining critical supply lines and services. For this reason, the scheme only applies to those looking to renew an existing lorry or bus licence where a medical report is normally required.
- The scheme in Great Britain only applies to the renewal of licences that expire on or after 1 January 2020 and where the applicant cannot provide a medical report. Drivers whose licences expired before 1 January 2020 would have had the opportunity to obtain a medical report before the impact of the pandemic and are therefore not eligible to take advantage of the temporary arrangements.
- The sections for Great Britain will be retrospective and support the temporary scheme by making the 1-year expiry date of licences issued without a medical report enforceable.
- The sections for Northern Ireland make similar provisions to those made for Great Britain. However, the section is not retrospective as Northern Ireland has not already issued any 1-year licences without a medical report.
Temporary reduction in duration of certain driving licences
Planning
- This Act ensures the planning system in England can continue to operate effectively and proactively support the planning and safe construction of new development following the impact of Covid-19. The Act introduces a new route for developers to seek to amend planning restrictions on construction site working hours to temporarily allow extended working hours, for example work during the evening and at weekends. This is to ensure that, where appropriate, planning conditions are not a barrier to allowing developers the flexibility necessary to facilitate the safe operation of construction sites during the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to proceed at pace with work otherwise delayed as a result of Covid-19.
- The Act also extends the expiration of certain planning permissions and listed building consents, providing certainty to the development industry where developments are delayed due to Covid-19. There is a strong consensus across the industry and local planning authorities that unimplemented planning permissions should be extended to enable planned developments to be commenced over the next year. MHCLG analysis of data from Glenigan, the construction market analysts, shows that at the end of March 2020 there were 1,178 major residential planning permissions with capacity to deliver over 60,000 homes due to lapse this calendar year.
- The Act will temporarily remove the requirements for the Mayor of London to make the current Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) available for physical inspection and to provide hard copies on request. This will help accelerate progress of the emerging SDS to ultimately unlock development and support the economy. It will make it safer for planning officers and the general public inspecting documents, and reduce administrative burdens.
- It also provides the Planning Inspectorate with the flexibility to use more than one procedure type when dealing with a planning appeal (local inquiry, hearing, and/or written representations), enabling appeals to progress at a faster pace.
- This Act also amends section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020. This ensures that Mayoral development corporations, urban development corporations, parish meetings, and Transport for London can be included in secondary legislation allowing for the modification of requirements for local authority meetings held on or before 6 May 2021. This includes allowing them to hold all necessary meetings virtually, enabling local authority members, officers and members of the public to access meetings and associated documents remotely.
