North East curfew on pubs, restaurants and licensed venues

The health minister, Matt Hancock has announced local restrictions for the North East of England, following concerning rates of Covid-19 infection in the region.

The restrictions will come in force at midnight on Friday 18 September.

2 million people in the area will be affected and the measures will apply in Northumberland, North and South Tyneside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham.

The measures, which were confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 17 September, following Government talks with the North East councils and local MPs include:

• A ban on residents socialising outside of their household or social bubble, both indoors and outdoors;
• All bars, pubs, restaurants, cafes and other leisure and entertainment venues to close between 10pm and 5am;
• Hospitality for food and drinks will be restricted to table service only in bars, cafes and restaurants.

If you are worried about how these changes will affect your licensed business, please contact Matt Foster, Head of Licensing at Mincoffs Solicitors on mfoster@mincoffs.co.uk or call 0191 212 7702 for further advice.