Price, who has been chair of the BII since September, told The Morning Advertiser (The MA) he had seen a “varying degree of understanding” from MPs about the plight of pubs, but that political attitudes were shifting on key issues, including VAT.
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He pointed to VAT rates in European countries, adding: “Only us and Denmark haven’t reduced VAT for hospitality.”
“We’re lagging behind with that”, he continued. “MPs used to say, ‘you’ll never get [a VAT reduction], we can’t afford it’, but now, the question is the other way round, ‘can we afford not to do it?’
“Having lost more than 100,000 jobs in the industry, a lot of those held by young people, it’s something MPs are starting to listen to. It is the absolute shot in the arm the industry needs.”
Reassuringly, Price added pubs are being talked about “more than ever” in the House of Commons, which he attributed to the “big reaction” to business rates changes in the recent Autumn Budget.
In focus
With financial pressures continuing to hit the sector, from rising taxes to higher operating costs, Price urged operators to keep lobbying their MPs.
“At the moment we seem to be in focus,” he said. “It’s important we carry on that momentum and make sure something changes in the next Budget, because the cumulative tax burden is now so high. Ultimately, we need to persuade the Treasury to loosen the purse strings.
“If MPs hear from 10, 20, 40, 60 people on an issue, it absolutely puts it up their agenda. That has been happening to a degree, but we need to keep going.”
Price, who runs 11 pubs across the south east under Barons Pub Company, added he had seen a noticeable rise in MPs engaging with pubs locally. “Generally, the message is they want to be supportive,” he said.
Despite this positive momentum, Price shared concern those at the top still did not fully understand business rates for pubs, which he described as “unnecessarily complicated”.
“The methodology is fundamentally flawed…my worry, talking to MPs generally, is that they don’t have the depth of understanding. It needs a lot of unpicking.
Actions not words
“Talk doesn’t make any difference, actions do”, he added. “Only if things come through to policy change will it have an effect. The big hope is because it has been brought into focus and there was a big reaction from the industry, it now gets followed through.”
Price also told The MA Parliament was paying more attention to the sector’s concerns around rising wage costs for the “first time in years”.
He continued: “The economic arguments are becoming clearer: if you outprice young people from the jobs market, everyone’s worse off.
“If we’re not employing young people and giving them their first jobs and training them to be good young professionals, everyone loses. There’s definitely been a shift and it’s starting to be discussed.”
With mounting pressures on the sector, Price stressed profitability underpinned employment, investment and growth, something MPs urgently needed to recognise.
He said: “It’s crucial we get the Government understanding that profit is not a dirty word.
“If we are able to make a profit, that provides resilience, which brings employment, reinvestment, growth and all the positives that follow.”
