Curfew- hit pubs warn economic package falls short

HOSPITALITY firms hit hard by the pandemic have said measures in the economic support package announced by the Chancellor “don’t go far enough”.

About 37,630 pubs across the English regions, and 3,118 in Wales, came under the new 10pm curfew from last night, according to real estate adviser Altus Group.

But combined industry figures have said those restrictions and the broad- brush approach to support caused issues.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the trade body UKHospitality, said job support scheme plans are a “move in the right direction” but also called for more targeted efforts.

“We need Government to go further in hospitality, recognising the greater restrictions imposed upon us, and pick up the full cost of unworked hours,” she said.

“Full support to sustain people in their jobs during what could be a pretty bleak winter for hospitality would be a great step forward.

“The Chancellor has given us some reason to be positive again, but we urge him to engage with the trade on specific measures to keep people in work.

“While some of these measures announced today will give businesses a future to shoot for, and hope that they can begin to rebuild, we are still not out of the woods.”

Tom Ironside, the British Retail Consortium’s director of business and regulation, said the new programme will “help reduce job losses” at eligible firms, but called for an extension to the current business rates holiday.

Other trade groups, such as UKHospitality, had called for an extension to the business rates holiday for hospitality and retail firms for the 2021- 22 financial year, before Rishi Sunak’s speech.

Mr Ironside said: “Retail is on a delicate path to recovery, but the looming threat to this remains the £ 8bn business rates cliff- edge from April 2021. Retailers need certainty and the Chancellor must take action and bring down the business rates burden in order to avoid unnecessary job losses and shop closures.”