Kate Nicholls
This archive features our reporting on Kate Nicholls OBE — a key voice in the UK’s hospitality and foodservice policy landscape. As Chair of UKHospitality, Nicholls plays a central role in lobbying government, shaping regulation, and influencing the commercial environment in which restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés, and catering firms operate. Catering Today covers Nicholls’ statements, policy positions, and leadership activity because her work directly affects the trading conditions, labour challenges, and long-term resilience of foodservice businesses. For operators navigating rising costs, staffing pressures, or post-pandemic recovery, her advocacy and insights are both timely and consequential.
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Apr- 2025 -4 AprilPubs and Bars
Government to launch licensing review
The Government has announced it is set to launch a new working group on how to reduce barriers in the licensing system. The group will report in six weeks, with solutions to improve the licensing system, cut red tape and boost hospitality’s competitiveness. UKHospitality, which sits on the group, will…
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1 AprilGovernment
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 -31 MarchBusiness
UKH calls for Government hospitality plan amid rising costs
UKHospitality has called on the Government to bring forward a plan for hospitality businesses that “enables the sector to unlock growth and jobs” as new costs hit the sector. It believes that this should include the Treasury ensuring its business rates reform, to be unveiled in the Autumn, offers the…
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25 MarchBusiness
UKH calls for CMA investigation into business energy market
UKHospitality has called for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to conduct an investigation into the non-domestic energy market. In a letter addressed to CMA boss, Sarah Cardell, the trade body said the criteria for a Market Investigation Reference (MIR) has been “undoubtedly met”, including reasonable grounds for suspecting competition…
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12 MarchGovernment
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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11 MarchFeatures
How will the new allergen guidance affect businesses?
Last week the Food Standards Agency (FSA) unveiled new best practice industry guidance on providing allergen information to consumers with food hypersensitivities. This will undoubtedly have an effect on hospitality businesses, especially coming at a time when so much else is changing in regards to costs. So what is the…
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5 MarchFood and Drink
FSA announces new allergens guidance
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has revealed new best practice industry guidance on providing allergen information to consumers with food hypersensitivities. The new guidance states that written allergen information should always be available for non-prepacked food alongside a conversation between servers and customers about their allergen requirements. The FSA will…
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Feb- 2025 -26 FebruaryEducation
UKHospitality secures government-backed training scheme
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that it will partner with UKHospitality to rollout hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) to 26 new areas in need of jobs. The announcement follows a successful pilot of the scheme in 2024, ran by UKHospitality, which delivered an 85% completion rate.…
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25 FebruaryPubs and Bars
Home Office proposes Women’s Euros licensing relaxation
The Home Office is proposing a relaxation of licensing hours if any of the qualifying home nations reach the semi-final or final of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025. Licensing hours for these games are proposed to be extended from 11pm to 1am in England and Wales, which will be particularly…
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21 FebruaryCatering Companies
Contract catering sales rise 12% YoY in Q4
Britain’s top contract caterers saw their sales grow by 12% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the latest Contract Catering Tracker from CGA by NIQ and Bidfood. As the tracker’s highest growth of the year, it followed increases of 7%, 10% and 7% in the first three…
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