Petitions from businesses and the lobbying of MP's persuaded the chancellor to extend the retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief of 100% from April 1st for three months and 66% for the remaining nine months of the financial year. There is also a further business rates relief fund of £1.5 billion for businesses affected by COVID-19 outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors.

Since September, Imperial College London has run monthly swab tests at various TFL stations, buses and trains, and all have tested negative for all known variants for SARS-CoV-2. 

The results provide a baseline for ongoing sampling campaigns and assess the cleaning and improved ventilation's efficacy now adopted by the industry. It's positive news for passengers returning to work and reassuring people who have used the networks throughout the pandemic. You can read the full report here.

The TfL Go App is a handy tool for planning your journey and provides alternative ideas for walking and cycling routes.

Make it Ealing has made sure the town centre is safe by regularly sanitising all public touchpoints and cleaning street furniture.

LFT testing works, and it reassures staff they are safe at work, as it can pick up the infection before the symptoms start, which is critical in stopping the spread. You can order free rapid lateral flow tests to test your employees twice a week in the workplace.

If you have ten or more employees, from early April, you'll be able to order tests for your employees to collect from their workplace and use at home twice a week. You can do this if you cannot provide testing in the workplace.

You must register by 11:59 pm on 12 April 2021. If your business is closed or cannot provide tests now, you should still register here to order tests in the future.

If you have less than ten employees, your staff can still order packs of lateral flow tests online sent to their home address. Watch the BBC video for the correct way to perform the test.

The new BID term for the next five years started on April 1st 2021, and you can catch up with our plans here. 

We have just moved to a new office on the 2nd Floor of 28-29 The Broadway, our landline number will change, but our mobile and email addresses remain the same. 

If you have any queries contact Gerry. In the meantime, stay safe and well.