UK’s business sectors edge out of plan B Covid ways – slowly
It could be a slow return to business across the UK as chilly weather and ongoing fears about the spread of Omicron keep many workers, shoppers and diners at home, despite the change in guidance. The many workplaces who have told staff to work from home until a review in late January are also unlikely to make a swift change in plan.
The London underground network recorded 8% more journeys on Thursday compared with a week earlier. Transport for London said 1.09m entry and exit “taps” with contactless cards or Oyster were recorded up to 10am on Thursday on the tube – about 80,000 more than last Thursday’s morning peak. Bus journeys were up 3% week on week, with 1.19m boarding taps recorded during Thursday morning.
The changed guidance appeared to have made no discernible difference to road traffic, with morning peak congestion slightly lower on Thursday than Wednesday in London, Manchester and the West Midlands urban region, according to data from satnav firm TomTom.
Gwyn Topham
Retailers are hopeful that a return to offices will help city centre stores but unsure how the revival of leisure and entertainment attractions, as well as the cost-of-living squeeze, will affect spending on non-essential goods.
The number of visitors to UK city centres outside the capital was up nearly 2% on Thursday compared with the same day a week before and almost 4% higher in London. Across all destinations, numbers were virtually flat week-on-week and down by a fifth on pre-pandemic levels according to data provider Springboard – a similar pattern to recent months.
Cafe chain Pret a Manger’s sales at London stations were at only 71% of pre-Covid levels last week. Its sales in the suburbs, in contrast were 15% up on 2019.
Helen Dickinson, the chief
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