The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement received a muted reception from industry groups amid renewed calls to relieve the pressure on pub and restaurant operators.
Philip Hammond’s decision to freeze beer duty was broadly welcomed, but the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) called on him to go one step further and cut the “unfair burden” in his Spring 2017 Budget to lure drinkers away from their homes and back into pubs.
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) reiterated its call for a wholesale change to business rates which it said posed a serous difficulty to many businesses.
And the British Hospitality Association (BHA) said the government had missed a trick by failing to cut VAT for tourism, an issue it has long campaigned on.
The Chancellor’s statement give a lifeline to rural pubs which will be able to claim 100 per cent relief on their business rates.
Reductions in the cap on transitional rate relief were also welcomed – but the ALMR said the measures did not go far enough.
Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “This still falls far short of the wholesale change that many businesses are looking for and that some will need in order to invest and grow.
“The Government has indicated that further announcements on rates are to be made and we hope that this will provide better news and a more productive step towards tackling rates bills that are a serious difficulty for many businesses.”
Arguing Britain’s beer duty was higher than all other major European brewing nations, BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: “We are now calling on the Chancellor to cut beer duty in the 2017 Spring Budget, and tackle the unfair burden it places on Britain’s beer drinkers, publicans and brewers.”
CAMRA said years of the beer duty escalator had forced more and more people to stay at home and drink, with national chairman Colin Valentine commenting: “This trend not only hurts UK businesses, but is also contributing to the demise of our communities and affects people’s personal wellbeing.”
Meanwhile Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the BHA, said a cut in VAT rate for tourism businesses would help the UK compete with European rivals.
She added: “The UK’s hospitality and tourism businesses are already experiencing increased costs as a consequence of the fall in the value of Sterling with the price of building materials, cotton and imported food and beverages climbing.
“This is a worrying trend at a time when Britain needs to be open for business and tourists alike.”
