Government

The latest news and updates on government policy, from the business journalists at Catering Today. We bring you the latest on what’s happening in the restaurants, bars and catering industry, with exclusive stories, analysis, best practice and industry comment.

Feb- 2021 -

23 February

324,000 hospitality supply jobs at risk unless Gov takes action

324,000 jobs within the UK’s hospitality supply chain are at risk unless “businesses receive immediate financial support from the government”, according to UKHospitailty. The statement comes as part of research conducted by the group, where it was found that one in five jobs in the supplier workforce have already been…
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19 February

Hospitality included in Sadiq Khan’s £5m investment proposal

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new proposal to invest £5m in the eventual reopening of central London, including a campaign which hopes to drive tourism back to “hard-hit” hospitality and retail venues. The mayor said he wants domestic tourism to be a central focus in London’s drive…
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12 February

UK suffers record 9.9% GDP slump

GDP declined by 9.9% in 2020, a figure which is more than double of what was recorded in 2009 after the UK’s financial crisis. According to the ONS, the fall was largely due to restrictions which were in place for most of the year, forcing the economy to operate at limiting trading levels. Figures…
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2 February

Labour warns 650,000 hospitality business at risk of collapse

The Labour Party has accused the government of “economic negligence” as it has estimated 650,000 hospitality businesses could collapse in the next three months amid reports of the current lockdown lasting until May. New analysis by the opposition party, based on the latest ONS data, has revealed an “underlying cash…
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Jan- 2021 -

29 January

UKH warns quarantine rules could affect tourism long-term

UK Hospitality has responded to the new government hotel quarantine initiative by cautioning of the long-term impact on the UK’s relationship with international visitors. Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality reiterated that driving down cases and taking steps to eliminate new strains of the virus through enforcement of new and existing…
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27 January

Finance minister: ‘no current plans’ to extend VAT cut

Jessie Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire and financial secretary for the treasury, has revealed there are “no current plans” to extend the VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism sectors. Following a question on the matter from Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool, Norman said: “The temporary reduced rate…
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19 January

Sunak looks to raise corporation tax in March budget

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly looking to raise corporation tax in the upcoming March budget to pay off the estimated £400bn borrowed by the UK throughout the pandemic. According to The Financial Times, the alleged move has sparked uproar among business owners who claim they are still struggling with the economic impact of Covid-19. However, it…
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18 January

Sacha Lord calls for hospitality to reopen alongside non-essential retail

Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester’s night time economy advisor, has claimed that hospitality “must reopen” alongside non-essential retail as part of a return to the Covid-19 tiered system. The comment came in response to Dominc Raab’s confirmation on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that a phased transition out of national…
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15 January

Former directors of Carillion face disqualification charges

The Insolvency Service has applied to the High Court to disqualify eight directors and former directors for Carillion following the company’s collapse in 2018. Carillion was a supplier to the government with around 420 public sector contracts. At its peak the catering aspect of the business served 32,000 meals to…
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14 January

UKH Cymru urges businesses to apply for latest government grants

UKHospitality Cymru has urged Welsh hospitality businesses and their suppliers to apply early for the latest £180m package of Welsh Government business support. Under the new financial support, the government has estimated that a typical Welsh business with an equivalent of six full-time staff could be eligible to receive between…
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