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WSTA and UKHospitality welcome Tory pub support but say it ‘needs to go further’

Published:  15 November, 2019

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) and UKHospitality have welcomed the pledge announced today by the Conservative Party to support the UK’s pubs.

The trade bodies however warned that “support will need to go further”.

In response to the Conservative Party’s package of support for high streets, which includes a cut in business rates and funding for community groups to buy local pubs, and funding for the rail network, Miles Beale, CEO, WSTA, welcomed “any commitment" by politicians to help bolster the British pub industry, but urged the next government to “take a wider look at the whole UK hospitality sector”.

“Together with UKHospitality, we are calling for a cut to all hospitality business rates - which would not only help pubs, but would also have a positive impact on the struggling high street where bars and restaurants are closing at an alarming rate due to crippling financial pressures,” he said.

Kate Nicholls, CEO, UKHospitality said: “The hospitality sector pays over £3bn in business rates, 11% of the total UK rates bill. This is despite being responsible for 2.5% of eligible economic activity. If hospitality’s rates bill was fair it would be slashed by £2.4bn.

“A cut for pubs is certainly very welcome and a great first step. Any future government does need to realise that the problem is wider and affects the entire hospitality sector. This cut needs to go further and incorporate all hospitality businesses, and it needs to pave the way for wider reform of the whole system.”

The WSTA and UKHospitality also reiterated their call for a cut in Britain’s wine and spirit duty.

“The punishingly high wine and spirit duty adds to the pressures facing the UK hospitality sector. High duty rates are bad for UK consumers, bad for UK businesses - especially SMEs - and bad for the Exchequer. Cutting duty is proven to increase revenue to the Exchequer,” said Beale.

UKHospitality, the voice for over 700 companies, was established following a merger approved in February 2018 between the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and the British Hospitality Association (BHA).