Join our new WhatsApp channel: The Morning Round-Up
Get the biggest pub trade stories straight to your phone. Listen to our one-minute daily news briefing and receive breaking news, exclusives and sector updates throughout the day. Remember to turn notifications on in the top right corner!
Join the channel here.
The question asked Burnham if there will be more support for the hospitality industry.
He responded by highlighting the recent reduction in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues from April next year - a move that was welcomed by many in the sector alongside calls for further action.
He said: “We’ve cut business rates for pubs by 20% and we’d like to do more. So watch this space, hopefully more to come.”
Sector support
This comes after Burnham said the cut was a “first step”. Speaking to reporters during a visit to a pub in Essex following the announcement last moth (Thursday 23 July), he said pubs in particular “need to know the cavalry is coming”, according to the BBC.
He said: “Once pubs are gone, they don’t come back. So we’ve just got to signal what support when we can, that’s why I’ve made this early announcement.
“It could make the difference for a number of venues that are struggling and it was right to confirm quickly because, as I say, so much good happens bringing communities together.”
Responses to the rates reduction were cautionary with many operators pointing out an average £1,100 saving was not going to make a huge difference, given ongoing rocketing costs.
Not the solution
JD Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin described the cut as a “move in the right direction” and urged the Prime Minister to back the industry’s #VatsTheProblem campaign, which last week (Thursday 30 July) exceeded 300,000 signatures.
VAT reform was also called for by owner of the Feathered Nest in Nether Westcote, Oxfordshire, Adam Taylor.
He said: “While the Government’s decision to reduce business rates by 20% is welcomed, it should be seen as the first step - not the solution. If the Government genuinely wants to secure the future of pubs, protect jobs and boost economic growth, VAT reform really needs to be the priority.
“A fairer VAT rate would deliver far greater long-term benefits to pubs their employees and the communities they serve than business rate relief alone.”
Meanwhile, Fuller’s boss Simon Emeny said the announcement was a “positive start” but added the sector still needed wider reform.
