Hospitality calls for support in the Autumn Statement

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to set out his plan for stabilising the economy in the Autumn Statement today.

The announcement will begin at around 11:30 and is expected to include widespread spending cuts and tax rises.

The Times reported this week that the chancellor is to raise the national living wage from £9.50 to £10.40 from next April to reflect the rising cost of living.

Hunt is also expected to set out how energy bill support will continue after the current scheme ends in April 2023. The government had previously said “vulnerable” industries such as hospitality would receive longer-term help.

When Hunt became chancellor in October, he scrapped almost all of the tax cuts announced by Liz Truss’ short-lived administration, including a VAT-free shopping scheme and a freeze on alcohol duty rates.

The hospitality industry has been calling for wider support for the sector to avoid further business failures in the face of spiralling costs and a petition has launched calling for hospitality VAT to be lowered to 10%.

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said the Autumn Statement was the “last chance” to get things rights and support businesses while the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said that without further help pubs and brewers faced an "extremely bleak winter".

Speaking at the HOSPACE event in London this morning, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said she hoped the budget would provide some certainty for businesses, even if it was just a signal that the financial pressures would be as “short and shallow” as possible.

She called for the chancellor to provide a plan to tackle energy and inflation in the short-term, reform the business rates system and implement a longer-term plan for fixing the labour market. “We’re not expecting a tax cut, but we need a strong signal from the chancellor and PM on all three of those issues," said Nicholls.

Follow The Caterer website and on Twitter @Caterertweets for live updates on the Autumn Statement later this morning.