A joint IoL and NTIA letter has been sent to Chairmen of Licensing Committees in councils across the country calling for pragmatism from licensing authorities saying "Partnership working with businesses, to allow them to recover and make their contribution to the economy has never been more important."

The letter jointly signed by IoL Chair, Dan Davies, and Michael Kill, CEO Night Time Industries Association, continues "One of the key problems that hospitality businesses now face is a lack of resources including staff. This is a particularly serious problem when it comes to complying with licence conditions that depend upon staff resources.

"We are writing to you at this time to make you aware of the issues, and to ask that you take them into account in making case by case licensing decisions.

"This continues to be very important even as we emerge from the worst restrictions of the pandemic. Partnership working with businesses, to allow them to recover and make their contribution to the economy has never been more important. We hope that highlighting this crisis will assist in making informed and proportionate decisions."