The Chancellor delivered her Spring Forecast, which primarily updated economic forecasts for the UK across inflation, unemployment and other key metrics.
With the Government having committed to delivering only one fiscal event a year, it had made clear that this was not going to set out a major set of policy announcements, and it did not – it was purely a setting out of economic forecasts.
Our response
Kate Nicholls, Chair of UKHospitality, said: “If the Government wants to deliver growth everywhere for everybody, it needs to recognise that hospitality is the sector best placed to deliver that across the country.
“Urgently reducing hospitality’s cost of doing business has to be the priority. That means cutting one of the highest rates of VAT in Europe, properly fixing the broken business rates system and helping hospitality get people back into work by reducing employment costs.
“The Chancellor spoke of wanting everyone to be able to afford a holiday, but the Government’s plans to introduce a holiday tax will put that even further out of reach for the regular family. If it wants to make holidays affordable, it should stop the holiday tax.”
One significant development as a result of the Spring Forecast was updated funding for devolved administrations.
The Scottish Government will receive an additional £900 million and the Welsh Government an additional £540 million.
We are calling on the Scottish Government to use that additional funding to expand its hospitality business rates support.
Leon Thompson, Executive Director of UKHospitality Scotland, said: “With the Scottish Government receiving almost a billion pounds in extra funding, it should now urgently expand its hospitality business rates support to ensure the whole sector can benefit.
“Currently, thousands of businesses are excluded from existing support due to the £110,000 cap per business, which is particularly detrimental for those running multiple sites and employing large numbers of people.
“The Scottish Government should use this windfall to remove this cap and extend support to all businesses, include those paying intermediate and higher property rates, which will help bring down the sector’s cost burden.”
Find out more
Proposed tourist tax is the wrong policy at the worst time
All political parties are urged to commit to introduce a permanently lower business rates poundage for hospitality.
Commit to permanently lower Scottish business rates, parties urged
All political parties are urged to commit to introduce a permanently lower business rates poundage for hospitality.
Next Welsh Government must properly reform business rates
The broken business rates system continues to punish hospitality and must be fixed by the next Welsh Government.
