Government
The Government section on Catering Today reports on legislation, policy, and regulatory developments impacting the UK hospitality and catering industry. It covers government initiatives on business rates, taxation, employment, sustainability, and food safety — alongside updates from Westminster and local authorities. Through analysis and expert commentary, Catering Today helps hospitality professionals understand how political and regulatory changes affect operations, compliance, and long-term business strategy across restaurants, pubs, and catering firms.
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Jan- 2026 -7 January
Scottish hospitality faces closures amid rates revaluation, sector warns
Licensed hospitality businesses across Scotland face an increased risk of closure as a result of the non-domestic rates revaluation due to take effect in April 2026, according to the Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG).With the Scottish Budget due on Tuesday 13 January, the industry body said ministers must decide how the…
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Nov- 2025 -26 November
BUDGET: Income tax bands frozen, minimum wage to increase, NI-exempt pension threshold scrapped
Income tax and NI thresholds will be frozen while the minimum wage will rise by 50p from April 2026, the chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her Autumn Budget statement today. Reeves announced a series of tax changes in other areas, including salary-sacrificed NI contributions on pensions, as part of measures…
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Oct- 2025 -7 October
UKH welcomes Tories’ pledge to scrap business rates
UKHospitality has welcomed the shadow chancellor’s claim that the party wants to “abolish” business rates. Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference this week, Mel Stride said that businesses need “hope” and claimed that 89,000 jobs have been lost in the hospitality sector alone. He said: “We need to get business…
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Jul- 2025 -28 July
Govt to fast-track new cafes and bars with planning reforms
The government has announced that cafes, bars and music venues could soon replace empty shops under its new plans to relax licensing and planning rules, in a bid to revive town centres. The reforms, which were announced on Sunday (27 July), will form part of the forthcoming Small Business Plan,…
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May- 2025 -20 May
UKH urges UK and EU to agree on flexible youth experience scheme
UKH has urged the UK government and the European Union to pursue a youth experience scheme with “maximum flexibility” for critical cultural exchange and economic benefit. The call comes as the UK and the EU have recently announced a new deal which includes a number of measures intended to improve…
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12 May
London Mayor unveils new £300,000 ‘Summer Streets’ fund
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new £300,000 Summer Streets fund to boost al fresco dining and extend opening hours for pubs, restaurants and venues, in summer 2025. The fund will be delivered in partnership with councils across the city to support restaurants, cafes, small nightlife venues,…
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Apr- 2025 -7 April
Gov launches initative to cut red tape to boost British nightlife
Pubs, clubs and restaurants are set to be released from red tape which has stifled business as the government ‘backs the British night out’, after revealing its new Plan for Change initiative. Action includes moves to improve the application of licensing laws and strengthen businesses’ competitiveness, giving diners, pub and…
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1 April
UKH urges Gov to work with hospitality as ‘eyewatering’ £3.4bn costs hit
UKHospitality has urged the government to work with hospitality to help bring growth and jobs back to the sector on the day (1 April) that £3.4bn of new annual costs hit the sector. It comes as hospitality businesses will now face an additional £1.9bn in wage costs, £1bn of employer…
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Mar- 2025 -26 March
Chancellor resists calls for business relief in Spring Statement
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has resisted calls from businesses for relief ahead of the upcoming tax changes this April, as part of her Spring Statement today (26 March). UK businesses had been hopeful the chancellor would raise the relief rate for retail, hospitality, and leisure after cutting it to 40% in…
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12 March
UKH calls for delay to employer NICs threshold changes
UKHospitality has called for the government to delay the reduction in the employer NICs threshold after hospitality business confidence hit a two-year low. Only 14% of businesses feel optimistic about the hospitality market, according to research from CGA by NIQ’s Business Confidence survey. UKH claimed that the change to employer…
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