15 May 2020

Following the publication of the Welsh Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, the NHBF has welcomed their clarity for hairdressers within their traffic light guidance system.

There are four possible phases to the Welsh system: Lockdown (Black), Red, Amber and Green. Although no dates have currently been allocated to when each phase will play out, the government has listed ‘hairdressing’ as a ‘personal service under appointment’ in the Amber Phase of their roadmap. This is alongside non-essential retail and accommodation businesses (without shared facilities).

The NHBF has already written to the government about its decision to include ‘personal care’ services in Phase 3 alongside hospitality in England.  Hairdressing, barbering and beauty are usually included in with retail, for example for the purposes of business rates.  Many salons benefit from the retail business rates relief.  We have written to the Scottish government in similar terms.

Much like the UK Government’s Covid-19 recovery strategy that was released earlier this week, the Welsh roadmap is subject to continued progress in containing the spread of the virus, and each phase has its own social distancing measures. The Welsh Government has also said that things will not move ‘wholesale’ from one phase to the next, and that changes will be made slowly and with great care.

The NHBF represents 234 salons in Wales, and has already volunteered to support the Welsh Government by calling on their Members who want to take part in any pilot schemes.

Hilary Hall, chief executive of the NHBF says, “The safety of our industry has always been our top concern. We welcome the Welsh Government’s clarity that hair and beauty sits alongside retail and accommodation businesses. We will continue our conversations with the UK Government and the Scottish government about where hair and beauty should sit within the plans for lifting lockdown in England and Scotland. We have recently released robust guidelines to our Members and government contacts to show that salons and barbershops can operate safely whenever it’s time to re-open.”