Takeaways and restaurants excluded from business rates cut

Business rates will be cut by 20% for pubs, social clubs and live music venues across England from April next year, but not for restaurants or takeaways.

Announcing the measure, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it would benefit nearly 32,000 hospitality venues, saving the typical pub an estimated £1,100 next year. The move will cost around £100 million a year and will be funded by reviewing business rates reliefs for businesses that do not make a positive contribution to local communities, such as vape shops.

The government will also crack down on businesses that sell through online marketplaces but do not comply with their tax obligations.

The prime minister said: “This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do. What we’re announcing today is just the start as we work to bring back hope across the country.”

While welcoming the government’s decision to cut business rates for pubs and clubs, Andrew Crook, president of the NFFF, said it was disappointing that the wider takeaway and restaurant sector had been left out. He added: “It’s a start and it shows that the government is trying to work with the sector, but it doesn’t go far enough. It shows they don’t understand the pressures across the entire hospitality sector. If they want growth, jobs and to get young people back into work, we’re the sector that can deliver that. Instead, businesses are pulling back from employing, especially young people, because the pressures are so great.

“Government needs to engage properly with the whole sector, not just a handful of businesses or one trade association. Across the organisations I work with, we’re all hearing the same message from thousands of businesses. It’s in everybody’s interest to get this right, but they need to hear from the takeaway and restaurant sector as well as pubs and clubs.”