Eat Out to Help Out loophole saves £180

Treasury ‘powerless’ to stop gaming of scheme as diners pay separately for courses to maximise their discount

AN EAT Out to Help Out loophole meant a table of six diners could save up to £180 off meals, as the Treasury admitted it was powerless to stop gaming of the scheme.

Under the offer, diners get 50 per cent off their food and soft drinks bill up to a maximum of £10. However, if they paid for each course separately they could claim a bigger discount as the maximum saving would be applied to each course. A table of six could have saved up to £180 if they each claimed the full discount for a three-course meal, tripling their saving.

The scheme, which ends on Monday, operated between Mondays and Wednesdays throughout August.

Several restaurants told The Daily Telegraph that they had been asked to process bills for each course separately, although most said they had declined.

A Treasury source said there was nothing in the scheme’s rules to prevent such gaming of the system while the UK Hospitality trade body said it was aware of diners using the loophole to boost their savings. A Treasury spokesman urged the public to “respect the spirit” of the scheme.

The loophole’s emergence will fuel fears that the cost of the scheme was underestimated. Figures released this week revealed that, as of Aug 23, the total amount claimed was £336million.

John O’connell, the chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “This scheme is in danger of egregiously eating into taxpayers’ pockets.

“While action was needed to reopen the restaurant sector, subsidies like this produce unintended consequences by distorting spending decisions and quickly running up big bills which taxpayers will eventually have to pay off. Instead of meddling in our meals, ministers should stay away from these schemes in the future.”

Kate Nicholls, the UK Hospitality chief executive, said: “Asking to be billed separately for individual courses is not against the system. Businesses can claim back the money anyway, so, in theory, everybody benefits if the discount is applied that way.

“It might cause administrative headaches for some businesses, though. So, it is a good idea if customers talk to the business, ideally when they make their booking, to explain that’s how they want to be billed.”

Another loophole saw diners eat a different course at multiple venues, saving more money than if they stayed in one place and met the £10 cap.

Oisin Rogers, the landlord of The Guinea Grill and the Windmill in Mayfair, said: “People were having lunch in Soho and meeting at mine for a pint before, I’d persuade them to have a starter here first as Rishi [Sunak] wouldn’t be aware that they were going somewhere else after.”

Another central London pub witnessed customers taking advantage of bar snacks and starters before heading to have meals in the West End.

The landlord said one reveller had a cheap seven-course lunch by taking advantage of this method.

A Treasury spokesman said: “The Eat Out to Help Out scheme is designed to protect jobs and the figures indicate it is working – with over 64 million meals claimed for since it launched. We encourage people to respect the spirit of the scheme.”

Ms Nicholls said it had been a “great success” and pointed out that many restaurants were planning to continue with it voluntarily into September, without Government support, though she warned that many cash-strapped venues would be unable to. She said a formal extension would “keep customers excited about going out and give businesses the support they still need”.

The Treasury has previously ruled out an extension.