Eat Out to Help Out!

Today marks the start of another three days of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme - which takes place every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout August. You can get 50% off food and soft drinks at participating restaurants, up to a maximum value of £10 per person. 

Over the last few weeks, I've been visiting so many of our local businesses taking part - from the Redesdale Arms, to the Twice Brewed Inn. They've all done great work to help make everything COVID-Secure, so we can enjoy summer safely. You can watch my video from the Twice Brewed Inn with Steve, the manager above. 

Across Tynedale and Ponteland, dozens of restaurants are taking part, the full list is below:  

ALLENDALE

King's Head

ANICK

Rat Inn

BARDON MILL

The Bowes Hotel

Bardon Mill Village Store and Tea Room

Twice Brewed Inn

BARRASFORD

Barrasford Arms Hotel

BELLINGHAM

The Cheviot

Fountain Cottage Cafe

Riverdale Hall Hotel

Boe Rigg

BLANCHLAND

The Lord Crewe Arms

BLENKINSOPP

Blenkinsopp Castle Inn

CORBRIDGE

Corbridge

Cassia

Spokes Kitchen

Corbridge Larder

Angelfish

The Angel of Corbridge

The Wheatsheaf

EAST WALLHOUSES

The Robin Hood Inn

FALSTONE

The Blackcock Inn

The Pheasant Inn, Stannersburn

Cafe on the Water, Tower Knowe

HALTWHISTLE

The Black Bull

Centre of Britain Hotel and Restaurant

HAYDON BRIDGE

General Havelock Inn

Langley Castle Hotel

HEDDON ON THE WALL

Close House Golf Club

Three Tuns

HEDLEY ON THE HILL

The Feathers Inn

HEXHAM

The Hextol Tans Coffee Shop and Vegetarian Restaurant

The Rising Cafe

Cilantro

Hexham Abbey

Small World Cafe

Bunters Coffee Shop

The Heart Of Northumberland

Danielle's Bistro

Vercelli Restaurant

The Wentworth Cafe

Bouchon Bistrot

The County Hotel

Cafe Enna

The Dipton Mill Inn

HORSLEY

Lion & Lamb

MATFEN

Matfen Village Store and coffee shop

MICKLEY

The Blue Bell Inn

OTTERBURN

Weavers Cafe

OVINGHAM

White Swan

PONTELAND

Yolo Ponteland

Rialtos

Ponteland Tandoori

Fratelli

Chinese Harry

PRUDHOE

Caffe Ginevra Prudhoe

Balls's

Adam and Eve

Miners Lamp Community Cafe and Hub

The Falcon

The Coffee Tree

Bradley Gardens

RIDING MILL

The Station Coffee House

Brocksbushes Tea Room

ROCHESTER

Redesdale Arms

SLALEY

Rose and Crown

Travellers Rest

Hollybush Nursery

WALL

Hadrian Hotel

WARDEN

Boatside Inn, Warden

WEST WOODBURN

Bay Horse Inn

WYLAM

The Ship Inn Wylam

Face coverings to become mandatory in shops and supermarkets

The Government has announced today that face coverings in shops and supermarkets will become mandatory in England from Friday 24th July.

This announcement comes as growing evidence from Public Heath England and the World Health Organisation suggests that wearing a face covering in enclosed spaces helps protect individuals and those around them from coronavirus.

The new rule will be enforced by the police and those who fail to comply will face a fine of up to £100. 

Shop workers will be encouraged to prompt customers to comply with the new rule. However, they will not have to enforce the rule. 

Children under 11 and people with certain disabilities will be exempt from this new rule. Restaurants, pubs and cafes are also not included in this announcement. 

As with other public heath measures during the pandemic I have every confidence residents will comply with this new rule to help suppressing the spread of the virus, whilst allowing the restarting of the economy and saving lives. 

Guidance on how to wear and make a face covering can be found by clicking here. 

Chancellor announces A Plan for Jobs

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak has presented A Plan for Jobs to the House of Commons. Thanks, to the progress made in suppressing the virus the Government is now slowly allowing people to go back to work in accordance with COVID-secure workplace guidance. That is why it was right for the Chancellor to announce the second phase of economic interventions by the Government to help the economy deal with the negative economic impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Government has already supported workers through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the self-employed with the Self - Employed Income Support Scheme and businesses with grants and loans being made available. 

The new announcements include:

Jobs Retention Bonus - Employers who bring people back from furlough and keep them on until January will receive £1,000 for each staff member. 

Kickstart Scheme - The Kickstart scheme will directly pay employers to create new jobs for any 16-24 year old at risk of long - term unemployment. The scheme will pay wages for 6 months, plus an amount to cover overheads. That means, for a 24 year-old, the grant will be around £6,500.

Traineeships - The Government will pay employers £1000 to take on trainees, which triples the number of paces. This is a proven scheme to get young people ready for the work place. Traineeships consist of work experience placements, training and work preparation for 16-24 year olds. They last from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on need and can lead to apprenticeships, further education and other employment. 

Work coaches - The Government is doubling the amount of work coaches at a cost of nearly £900 million. Work coaches are people's first point of contact for someone who loses their job. They provide invaluable personalised support to help people get back to work.  

Apprentices - For the next six months the Government will pay businesses to hire young apprentices, with payment of £2,000. A new bonus has also been announced for hiring apprentices aged 25 and over, with a payment of £1,500.

Stamp Duty - The Stamp Duty threshold will be raised to 500,000 until 31 March 2021 to take effect immediately. Before, there was no stamp duty on transactions below £125,000 or £300,000 for first-time buyers. Everyone buying a main home under £500,000 will pay no stamp duty at all which means 9/10 of main home buyers will pay no stamp duty at all. 

Green Home Grants - The Government is funding £2bn of Green Home Grants helping to unlock work for thousands of plumbers, builders and tradespeople. Homeowners will receive vouchers to pay for at least two - thirds of green improvements such as loft, wall and floor insulation. Low - income households will be eligible for up to 100% government funding up to £10,000 which could make over 650,000 homes more energy efficient. It could also save households save up to £300 a year on their bills. 

Cut in VAT for hospitality and tourism sectors - VAT will be reduced from 20% to 5% to take effect from Wednesday 15th July 2020. This is a £4bn catalyst benefitting over 150,000 businesses, and consumers everywhere - helping to protect around 2.4 million jobs.

Eat Out to Help Out - For the month of August, the Government will give a 50% reduction, up to £10 per head, on sit down meals and non alcoholic drinks Monday - Wednesday. This scheme will support around 130,000 businesses and help protect the jobs of their 1.8 million employees.

The Chancellor also announced a full Spending Review and Budget will come in the Autumn. You can read the full 'A Plan for Jobs' by clicking here.