Corona impact: UK goes into recession after 11 years

After Coronavirus and lockdown, the UK is now officially under economic recession. Between April and June, there has been a record decline in the UK economy. The UK economy recorded a decline of 20.4% in April-June compared to January-March. During the lockdown, shops were closed due to restrictions and hence consumption and sale of household goods also decreased. There has also been a record decline in production and construction in factories.

According to a report by the BBC, for all these reasons, Britain is now in the grip of economic downturn for the first time since 2009. Britain’s Office for Nation Statistics (ONS) has hoped that the economy will be back on track from June onwards as lockdown restrictions have been relaxed. It has been said that the worst hit of the recession has been on the hospitality sector.

Rishi Sunak’s scheme getting praise

However, UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak’s ‘Eat Out to Help out’ scheme is getting good response. The UK Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that more than 1.05 crore meals have been availed in the first week itself. Under the scheme, the government is giving a 50 percent discount in the bill on food and drink in all restaurants, cafes and pubs in the UK. The scheme, launched by Indian-origin minister Sunak on August 3, aims to rejuvenate the hospitality sector of the country badly hit by the Corona virus lockdown and encourage people to eat outside their home. The government is itself bearing 50 percent of the bill for food served from Monday to Wednesday in restaurants participating in this scheme.

Sunak told, the first objective of the scheme is to save the jobs of 18 lakh chefs, waiters and restaurant workers. With the increase in demand from this scheme, people will also be encouraged to eat outside. He said, ‘More than 72 thousand establishments across the country are serving food with discounts. The government is paying half the bill. This industry has a very important contribution in our economy. Due to Coronavirus this area has been affected badly. According to Britain’s Finance Department, around 80 per cent of hospitality-related companies have been shut down since April, which has led to 1.4 million employees being asked to leave without pay or leave their jobs.’