Covid-19: West Midlands business leaders want greater clarity

Corin Crane from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce wants a clearer plan from the government

Business leaders in the West Midlands have asked the government for more clarity about its coronavirus plans.

The CEO of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, Corin Crane, said: "All businesses want is some idea of what happens and when it happens, so they can plan around that."

He said he felt government policy was "reactionary" and "on the hoof".

The government said on Wednesday the current "Plan B" measures would continue for at least three weeks.

Mr Crane, who has also asked for more government support to help with staff shortages, asked: "What happens if there's a next wave? What happens next? What levels do hospitals have to get at before more restrictions come in? When will they be released?"

Julian Turner was recently off work with Covid himself

Julian Turner, the CEO of the Westfield Technology Group in Dudley, which makes sports cars, is missing a quarter of his workforce to Covid at the moment.

And he also believes a clearer vision from government would help firms plan.

He said: "Obviously there's talk about a lockdown, I think that will destroy a lot of businesses.

"Then there's also talk about 'should we allow herd immunity?' Again, I just don't think there's an easy answer to that and without all the data and facts we can't really make a decision on it."

Plan B to remain

The Office for National Statistics said as many as 1 in 15 people in England had Covid-19 at the end of 2021.

The prime minister told the House of Commons earlier the current Plan B would remain in place, with a review planned for 26 January.

However, he said the rules could not be scrapped completely because hospital admissions were rising rapidly.

Across the wider Midlands region, the number of hospital admissions with Covid-19 has climbed just over 60% in the week up to 5 January - up from 1,687 to 2,709.

Shaun Sookoo said his staff were working 10-hour days to meet targets

At the same time, businesses in the region are struggling to keep up with demand with a reduced workforce.

Winny's Kitchen in Birmingham produces thousands of ready meals a week and has recently won a contract to supply Morrisons.

Owner Shaun Sookoo said: "When you're a small company like us that's almost 20% of our workforce [off ill], so that really put a strain on us and the slack has to be picked up by everyone else that's still here."