The Time Party UK Hospitality – More than just a Pint
Martin Murray
Saturday, July 25, 2020
A vital sector employing MILLIONS and generating BILLIONS for the economy. Want to get back to normal ? Then support this sector and it will lead the recovery.
Did you know that the UK hospitality sector employs over 3.2 MILLION PEOPLE?
The sector in 2019 was worth £133.5 BILLION to the UK economy
The hospitality sector is more than just pulling a pint! It includes:
- F&B food and beverage
- Travel &Tourism
- Lodgings (hotels, B&Bs Caravan Parks)
- Recreation (theme parks)
- Events and Entertainment (conferences – Theatres-Live Music-Comedy clubs and everything from Opera to DJ’s)
And let us not forget the future, SPACE TOURISM, of which is already worth Billions globally.
There are 115,108 licensed premises and 45,000 hotels with 730,258 beds in the UK
It is even more important than just recreation. Hospitality holds more importance than just money and jobs, as it breeds consumer confidence and helps ever other sector grow, not only within our towns but globally as Hospitality is THE MAIN DRIVER in Global Value Creation with a global value of $8.8 TRILLION and representing 10.4% of global GDP. Its supply chain affects every sector and every job.
As you can see, this is a very large sector of which is of great value to every single person.
So what is our Government doing to help this sector, which has been decimated during this global crisis?
VERY LITTLE if truth be told, and what little is on offer is far too late with too short a time span of support
Yes, ALL businesses can get some form of grant or loan and Yes, small-medium sized properties have zero business rates and YES, the staff have all been given furlough.
PLUS the recently announcement of a VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on supplies relating to hospitality, accommodation and admission fees.
Oh and let us not forget our governments own WOUCHER code of ‘EAT OUT TO HELP OUT’.
But here’s the thing.
The hospitality sector has been asking, lobbying, nay pleading, for a VAT reduction to 5% for years, just to make UK hospitality equally competitive with supermarket taxation and more importantly to bring the UK’s price competitiveness ranking up from 138th out 140 European countries.
And you wonder why our staycations are so expensive compared to Spain.
Time Party would make VAT for the Hospitality sector supplies FIXED at 5% FOREVER (excluding alcohol duty).
25% reduction in beer duty.
Right now £1 in every £3 spent in a pub goes straight to the taxman.
The UK has one of the highest beer duty rates in Europe – its duty rate is eleven times higher than Germany or Spain’s and three times higher than the average rate in Europe.
We would also remove the Town centre Business Rates levy and scrap ALL BIDs.
A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within which businesses are required to pay an additional tax (or levy) in order to fund projects within the district’s boundaries. The BID is often funded primarily through the levy but can also draw on other public and private funding streams.
Where is the logic of charging more to improve the area?
If you charge more, businesses will move, have moved OUT OF TOWN. You wonder why our high streets and towns are dying.
We must have a MINIMUM of a 12 month business relief scheme in place NOW, TODAY, so that all business not just the hospitality sector can plan and INVEST for the future.
Finally if you wonder why we are seeing an ever increasing popularity of this new type of ‘illegal’ raves, it is quite simple.
If ALL forms of legal entertainment and hospitality are removed, the only alternative is illegal entertainment!
Run normally by gangs and where drug dealing is the name of the game.
With every entertainment venue, they are licensed – abide by very strict laws – monitored and most importantly ACCOUNTABLE for the safety of all their customers.
Do not presume that all entertainment venues are full of riotous teenagers enjoying their youth.
This IS NOT the case, the Late-Night sector has a broad spectrum of Entertainment from comedy clubs to every genre of live music and top-line DJ’s playing every type of music for ALL types of people and every age range.
We must allow our hospitality sector to thrive.
Although it might be at a much reduced capacity for a while, do NOT think of how many customers you have today, but where will your customers go tomorrow?
If what we say strikes a chord, your help to cover our costs with the price of a coffee would be most appreciated!
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