"It's a good start," say Calderdale pub and bar owners after 20 per cent business rate cut announcement
Pub and bar owners in Halifax have welcomed the 20 per cent cut to business rates but say much more needs to be done to help them out.
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the business rates cut as one of his first policies in the role. It will apply to pubs, clubs and music venues in England from April next year.
Simon Jackson, owner of the Acapulco nightclub and vice-chair of Halifax Pub Watch, said: “Around March 2025, the Halifax Pub Watch group noticed a significant drop in footfall in the town centre, just weeks after we retained the purple flag award once again.
"But Halifax as a town has always been the party place people just love to visit on nights out and days out.
"The Halifax Pub Watch group is a very determined and close knit group who often say what they think at our meetings, and certainly over the last year or so, we note one of the subjects has been the state of the economy.
"So we welcome anything that the new government under Andy Burnham and the treasury gives back to help the night-time economy.
"And, let’s be fair, he has done this in his first week which itself is quite an achievement.
"We are told that this will give a £100 million boost to the industry, saving the average venue £1,100 a year.
"But we also have to be realistic. The £100 million boost is a drop in the ocean with the increases in things like minimum wage and employer national insurance, which cost the whole hospitality sector around £1.4 billion in extra costs.
"So it’s a little like costs have gone up by an average £30,000 but £1,500 will now be given back in the 20 per cent in business rates.
"So yes, it’s welcomed by the group, but maybe a five per cent VAT drop would certainly help to save save businesses and, of course, jobs.
"But it’s still early days, let’s hope the government can do a little more and not make us have to wait until next year, as some may not make it that far.”
Michael Ainsworth, owner of The Grayston Unity and Meandering Bear, said: “I’m happy with 20 per cent cut, it’s a good start from a Prime Minister who I think gets the challenges hospitality faces.
"I understand the fiscal challenges he faces and hope to see a future decrease in VAT, on drinks but in particular to ticket sales. Scrapping or reducing VAT on venues with 250 cap or smaller will make a huge difference. We are hopeful!”
Rachel Bray, from Jeremy’s at the Boathouse in Brighouse, said: “It’s a bit of a drop in the ocean really. Everything helps, but cutting business rates, I don’t think it’ll make a massive difference to a lot of bars and pubs and restaurants personally.
"I’m all for a cut in VAT because during Covid it made a massive difference.
"The business rates are too little. National Insurance contributions, the minimum wage that keeps going up, things that don’t actually cost the governement anything but cost us.
"Even a temporary cut in VAT would make a massive difference.”