Trade associations write to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to apply changes to State Aid The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and UKHospitality (UKH) have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to loosen State Aid restrictions, so that vital cash grants he promised to UK pubs and hospitality businesses in tier two and tier three lockdown areas can reach them. According to the trade associations, if the Chancellor doesn’t apply the changes to State Aid restrictions, 20,000 hospitality venues and pubs across the UK will not receive the support he has allocated to them – putting the one million plus people they employ’s livelihoods at risk. Until recently, State Aid rules directed by the EU meant that businesses could only receive up to €800,000 (£720,000) of cash support from the Government, which many businesses had already reached. However, since 13th October, the rules have changed enabling severely impacted businesses such as those in hospitality up to €3,000,000 (£2,700,000) in State Aid. Multiple operators of pubs and hospitality venues are therefore missing out on this vital support. In simple terms, an individual pub or restaurant could have claimed a £25k grant in May 2020, but a multiple pub or restaurant owning business would have been capped at claiming for a maximum of 28 sites. These businesses are therefore unable to access further grant support that is so desperately needed. Businesses hit by this rule, the trade associations say, employ around half of the hospitality workforce – over one million people. This makes getting cash grants to them particularly pertinent in order to protect the majority of hospitality jobs over the winter so they are there for the Spring once restrictions are lifted and the economy opens up again. Despite this, the Government hasn’t confirmed if it will allow businesses to access extra funds that would provide the help they desperately need, despite the trade associations asking Government for clarity on numerous occasion. According to the trade associations, if the Government doesn’t do this, pubs alone will miss out on grant support in the region of £50 million. The trade associations are now calling on the UK Government to apply the change to State Aid immediately and in the most flexible way possible, allowing pub and hospitality businesses to receive the grant funding they are eligible for and desperately need. In a joint statement they said: “Unfortunately, without applying changes to State Aid restrictions, some 20,000 hospitality venues and pubs will not receive the grants the Chancellor has rightly promised them. “Without the grants, many pubs and hospitality businesses will be lost forever and half of the hospitality workforce – over one million livelihoods – will be at risk. “The Government is hiding behind these EU rules which it has the ability to change. This cannot be the Chancellor’s intention, so he must now take advantage of the changes to State Aid rules to immediately unlock the grants our sector desperately needs. “If action is not taken by the Government or the Chancellor, thousands of businesses and over one million jobs will be at risk throughout the winter and might not survive to the spring and the economic recovery.”
BBPA responds to tier three measures set to be placed on Nottinghamshire and calls for support to be available to all pubs, brewers and suppliers to protect 13,500 jobs The British Beer & Pub Association, the leading trade association representing brewers and pubs, has today responded to the news that tier three lockdown measures will be placed on Nottinghamshire, severely impacting 823 pubs and putting at risk 13,500 sector jobs worth £268 million to the local economy. As part of the tier three restrictions in the county, off-license sales of alcohol will also be banned after 9pm. Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “This is a very worrying time for pubs, brewers and their wider supply chain in Nottinghamshire. “548 pubs who don’t serve substantial meals will be forced to close. 275 food led pubs will be able to remain open if they choose, but their trade will be decimated. “13,500 livelihoods are dependent on pubs in Nottinghamshire. Government financial support now needs to be delivered to them as quickly as possible to help their cash flow and cover their immediate costs. “The 9pm curfew on off-license alcohol sales is also greatly concerning. It will severely impact brewers whose ability to sell through retail outlets is vital to their survival whilst so many pubs are closed. “It is hugely worrying to see this additional alcohol curfew put into place with absolutely no evidence to show how it will fight the spread of the virus. SAGE itself has already called into question the effectiveness of the 10pm curfew on hospitality and this 9pm cut-off for off-license alcohol sales in Nottinghamshire is yet another example of layer upon layer of restriction with no proper evidence for its effectiveness in the first place. “Grants must also be made available to the brewers supplying pubs and off-licenses, who will lose a big proportion of their business overnight from this. “We urge the Government to review these restrictions as soon as possible. “Pubs are the heart of their communities and are safe and regulated environments to both eat and drink in. Beer is quintessentially British and a low alcohol option. Government investment in them now will preserve them for generations to come.”
Trade bodies report figures showing pubs, restaurants and hospitality venues are COVID-secure, urging Government to remove 10pm curfew Pub and hospitality trade bodies UKHospitality, the British Institute of Innkeeping and the British Beer & Pub Association have revealed today that just 1% of hospitality venues across the UK have been linked to NHS Test and Trace incidences (1). The finding, from a survey of members of all three trade associations conducted by hospitality market research company CGA, showed respondents operating over 22,500 outlets across the UK collectively only reported 275 NHS Test and Trace contact incidences – the equivalent to 1% of all outlets surveyed. Latest Public Health England data published also shows that hospitality was linked to just 2.7% of COVID-19 cases (2). The trade bodies say the findings reiterate that pubs, restaurants and hospitality venues are COVID-secure. They are now calling on the Government to consider removing the 10pm curfew on the sector, which SAGE has questioned as an effective way to combat the virus, and which is massively damaging hospitality trade in medium risk regions across the UK. A spokesperson for the trade bodies, said: “Just 1% of the 22,500 pubs, restaurants and hospitality venues we surveyed said they were linked by NHS Test and Trace to an incidence. “Public Health England’s own data shows hospitality was most recently linked to just 2.7% of COVID-19 incidences. “The evidence is clear that pubs, restaurants and hospitality venues are COVID-secure. Singling them out is simply illogical, counterproductive and grossly unfair. “SAGE itself has called into question the effectiveness of the 10pm curfew and it is greatly harming our sector in medium risk areas. The Government must consider removing the curfew.”
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