England’s lockdown will be ending on Wednesday and replaced with a new tiered system of coronavirus restrictions.
The new rules mean that more than 32 million people will be placed in tier 2 — allowing pubs and restaurants to sell alcohol inside their premises, but only if a “substantial meal” is purchased by customers.
The lockdown regulations have reignited a debate about what exactly constitutes a “substantial meal”. Is it as simple a buying a few bags of crisps? A pasty? Or a more filling meal, such as fish and chips?
Some publicans are scrambling to put together a food offering to lure customers back in a key month of trade.
And social media once again debated what a substantial meal actually consists of and displayed confusion at the new tier rules and how they prevent Covid-19 infections.
The online bafflement is not cleared up by government guidance, which is frustratingly vague on what sort of meal you need to order.
However, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick did previously broach the topic in October and ruled out a packet of crisps.
He said that a cornish pasty could be considered a “normal meal” if it was ordered with a side salad and chips.
Mr Jenrick clarified on LBC in October: “It would be like a main course, rather than, say, a packet of crisps or a plate of chips.”
Since then, there has been no further clarification and the Local Government Association (LGA) said the rule is “open to interpretation”.
It added: “It would be difficult to argue that a single sausage roll or a snack pork pie constitutes a main meal, whereas if it was served plated with accompaniments such as vegetables, salad, potatoes it could be considered substantial.”
The guidance also does not state how many alcoholic drinks you are allowed to order with your food.
And George Eustice, the environment secretary, has suggested alongside his ministerial colleague’s suggestion of a pasty, another picnic staple could be considered substantial enough to merit a pint.
“I think a Scotch egg probably would count as a substantial meal if there were table service”, he told LBC radio.
“Often that might be as a starter but yes I think it would, but this is a term that’s understood in licensing since it is, you can have the concept of a table licence for alcohol that also requires you to serve a substantial meal.
“That is the model that is being followed.”
However the term ends up being defined, the PM’s spokesman did say how long people could stay in the pub after purchasing a meal.
They said: “We’ve been clear that, in tier 2 I believe, that you need to have a substantial meal if ordering any alcohol and it remains the case that the guidance says that once the meal is finished, it is at that point.”
