At John Lewis where I was a new MD, we decided to put our trust in technology – to build a business model for the future.
Changes to trading hours are being considered, but they’re not the answer to our post-lockdown recovery.
The Government can avoid worsening it. But that requires as bold a deviation from ordinary policy as the extraordinary relief efforts we saw before.
“We know that the transmission of the virus is lower outdoors and that it is easier to follow Covid-secure guidelines in open spaces.”
How prepared are we for strict social distancing for the forseeable future, compulsory masks, closed leisure facilities – and a semi-functioning economy?
To kick off the restart debate on a practical level, here are five areas to consider for the first phase of any amendment to the current restrictions.
It should remove those taxes and regulations that will stop business from applying their ingenuity on the problem of rebuilding from the ruins.
A common threat, especially in the form of a pathogen, flicks switches in our brains, making us less tolerant of dissent.
The job now needs to be completed by shoring up workers’ incomes and firms’ revenues to as close to 100 per cent as is practical.
Plus: Treasury and Work & Pensions lessons. Greenlighters v the rest. Remembering Attlee’s surplus. And: the key question now is “how”, not “what”.
The theoretical aim of policy then should be bridging over what is hopefully a short pause in activity – eliminating near-term distress for households and businesses.
What about the impact on domestic violence, with everyone stuck in their own homes? And on those with serious but non-life threatening health problems?
Last year, almost 10,000 people working in convenience stores were the victim of violence while doing their job, with similar numbers reported by big retail stores.
More emphasis could have been put on local delivery of services, drugs, and even treatment using mobile medical equipment and remote consultation.