National insurance rise will 'wipe out' hospitality venues, MPs warn

Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire, Conservative) said UKHospitality estimates showed the changes would cost pubs, clubs, hotels and restaurant around £1b.

He added: “Does the minister honestly think that that will not mean job cuts in the hospitality sector?”

Daisy Cooper (St Albans, Liberal Democrat) said hospitality companies had told her the budget would disincentivise them from taking on part-time workers.

In his response, exchequer secretary to the Treasury James Murray said the government had to make “tough decisions” to “get our country back on track”.

“I recognise that the decision we are taking will have impacts, and in some cases it will mean that employers have to take difficult decisions."

Murray said the government was also raising the employment allowance, which helps smaller firms to reduce their NIC bill, from £5,000 to £10,500, and offering business rates relief to hospitality venues to help cut their costs.

However, opposition MPs remained unconvinced. Stuart Anderson, (South Shropshire, Conservative), said a group of publicans in Ludlow had told him they struggled to see a way forward in 2025.

“They are at the stage where their turnover is the same, their footfall is roughly the same, but they cannot see, as of next April, how they can make a profit,” he said.

“We can argue backwards and forwards about what we think. I am listening to my constituents, in a town, who almost unanimously agree that they cannot see a way forward when the budget comes into play next year.”

Read more: Autumn Statement: key points for hospitality at a glance

Photo: Nick Starichenko/Shutterstock