The Government has announced the cutting of VAT on children’s meals, including pubs, which will see a reduction to 5% on children’s menu meals.
But as ever, the devil is in the detail - what constitutes a children’s meal, what is the age limit on children eating from the children’s menu, and how is this going to applied?
Is this even a good thing for pub - yes it’s a VAT cut, something the sector has been calling for, but it’s a VAT cut in an area that is already heavily discounted down, with tiny, if any margins.
Many operators will already be gearing up to run food promotions on children’s menus throughout the summer, and will the headache of working out how to apply the VAT cut put many off doing anything?
MA editor Ed Bedington recorded a very impromptu reaction conversation with Lock In co-host Heath Ball, and award winning family pub operator Phil Sutton of the Perry Hill Pub in Catford, to gauge their thoughts on whether this is a good thing for the sector and ask what is the Government trying to achieve with this move?
