Ahead of the Autumn Statement, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the hospitality trade body is calling on the Chancellor to extend current business rates relief for the whole sector and scrap any plans to increase rates in line with inflation.
“Hospitality has been hit harder than any other sector by inflation, with many already struggling to pay their bills. To increase business rates bills by a third and hang a £900m millstone around the neck of the sector would cause devastation,” says Nicholls.
“The government clearly understands the pressures the sector is under due to rising costs and I would urge it not to compound issues by rising bills further. What it needs to do to ensure the sector survives is extend the current relief for the entire sector and ditch any plans to increase rates in line with inflation.
“Our sector has such potential to expand, deliver economic growth and support fantastic careers, but it is simply unable to do so with more and more cost being put on it at a time of national crisis."
Nicholls says hospitality is already “disproportionately burdened”, by overpaying in the current system by 300%, and that the time had come for the Government to support the sector by extending relief and reviewing "the unfair and outdated" business rates system.