The majority of Britain’s business owners will need less than a week to restart operations after any loosening of the government lockdown, according to a weekly survey by the British Chambers of Commerce. The latest BCC tracker poll found that almost two-thirds of respondents employing fewer than 10 people said they would need fewer than seven days to get ready. About half of respondents that employ more than 50 people could be open within seven days. One in four of the 540 businesses surveyed said they would not need any notice and 35% said they could cope with a timetable of fewer than seven days. Only 29% were more circumspect, saying they would need between one and three weeks’ notice. Boris Johnson has promised to outline the options for easing the lockdown on Sunday, though it remains unclear how broad or how quickly the prime minister plans to open up the economy. The BCC director general, Adam Marshall, said he wanted the government to provide a national plan for safety at work, and explain how travel restrictions would affect commuters and the services available to employees with family commitments, such as nurseries and schools. In a letter to the prime minister, the BCC president, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, said any divergence in guidance between nations or regions of the UK “will confuse businesses and their employees, disadvantage some, and must be minimised”.