Photo: Chris Bethell
In areas under Tier 2 lockdown, pubs are only allowed to serve alcohol with “substantial meals”. Many hospitality industry experts have argued that the “substantial meal” rule unfairly discriminates against so-called “wet pubs”, a term for venues that only serve alcohol. In response, the government has approved a way of getting around this problem, clarifying that pubs which don’t serve food will be allowed to team up with local takeaways, allowing them to stay open without breaking the rules.According to a government spokesman speaking to MailOnline: “It’s for both customers and venues to act reasonably and to exercise good judgement when adhering to these regulations. But businesses that do not ordinarily serve food may enter into a contracting arrangement with other local restaurants, for example, in order that they are able to do so and remain open.”That said, this doesn’t mean you can just rock up to your local with a pizza. “‘However,” the statement continued, “allowing customers to bring food into the premises that has been purchased elsewhere in order to consume alcohol remains prohibited.” The “substantial meal” phrasing, criticised as confusing and ambiguous, has already caused plenty of quibbling. Yesterday, for example, Sky News anchor Kay Burnley repeatedly demanded Health Secretary Matt Hancock answer the burning question on everyone’s lips: “Is a Scotch egg a substantial meal?”The “Scotch egg question” has been the subject of a surprising amount of controversy: Michael Gove initially claimed that a Scotch egg is a starter, not a meal, and then flip-flopped, arguing that it is actually “substantial”. As trivial as all this undoubtedly is, it does demonstrate the level of confusion the policy has caused, even among Conservatives themselves.
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