CARLISLE businesses are set to benefit financially after Covid-19 restrictions have been eased further, according to recent calculations.

As more workers return to the office and the government moves back to 'Plan A', there is expected to be a boost to the local economy due to more people going into the city centre.

Frank Recruitment Group estimates workers in Carlisle will spend up to £1625.28 each, even without going back to the previous Monday-Friday routine.

That’s based on the average price of a morning coffee at £2.43, with lunch also coming in at £6.00, twice per week.

Leader of Carlisle City Council, John Mallinson said: "The coronavirus pandemic has impacted on businesses as well our local communities.

"Easing of restrictions will encourage more people to return to working from their business, visit the city centre and provide a welcome boost to the local economy."

Despite the lifting of restrictions, the success of remote work during the pandemic is likely to mean that the return to offices won’t be on a full-time basis.

The Office for National Statistics has reported that 85 percent of homeworking Brits want their employer to offer hybrid options for going back into the office.

It is said that this is due to rising heating and electricity bills which people could cut down on if they worked from the office. The hybrid option also give employees the chance to have more flexibility with their weeks.

Zoë Morris, president at Frank Recruitment Group said: "There’s a huge range of businesses that will benefit from workers returning to the office.

"Even further beyond the 9-5 are the people working to get us into our cities, serving us post-work drinks and meals, there’s an entire support network around the desk-based workforce that we don’t often think of.

"The savings we make on electricity bills at home can be spent on things that make our daily lives better.

"From a takeout coffee on the way to the office to treating ourselves at lunch, that spend has a fantastic impact on city centre economies, which have really struggled to adapt to the challenges of the last two years."