No10 denied distancing itself from Rishi Sunak's 'Eat Out to Help Out' policy, after it was absent from his glossy Budget promo video.
The Chancellor yesterday released a five-and-a-half minute, taxpayer funded advert in which he recounted the turbulent year since he was made chancellor.
He listed a raft of policies introduced by the treasury - including measures to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic.
And there were a grand total of 134 images of Mr Sunak's face during the lengthy online ad.
But there was not a single word about perhaps the most high profile policy campaign of the Chancellor's first year in office.
Studies have suggested the policy, intended to boost spending in the hospitality industry, contributed to a second wave of infections.
Policies mentioned by the Chancellor - or flashed up on screen - in the clip included:
- Funding to build Roads
- Scrapping the 'Tampon tax'
- Freezing the Fuel duty
- Funding for the NHS
- An infrastructure fund
- A climate fund
- The 'Future Fund'
- The Covid Corporate Financing Facility
- The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- The Coronavirus Small Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- The Bounce Back Loan Scheme
- Vat deferral
- Business rates relief
- The Self-employment Income Support Scheme
- The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough)
- Time To Pay
- Statutory Sick Pay for people who are self-isolating
- Kickstart
- The Job Retention Bonus
- Work Coaches
- Apprenticeships
- And the Sector Based Work Academy Programme
In fact, the clip listed almost all of the Chancellor's announcements in both his first Budget and the Summer Statement which followed.
Yet there was no mention of his heavily promoted flagship policy, which gave Brits up to a 50% discount on meals eaten in restaurants.
Research from the University of Warwick published last year found between 8 and 17% of newly detected infection clusters in the month of August could be linked to the scheme.
And the study found areas which had a high take-up of Eat Out To Help Out also saw an increase in new infections the week after it started.
Asked whether the scheme's absence from Mr Sunak's promo film was a sign the government was distancing itself from the policy, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "You're asking me to comment on what might or might not be in the budget, which I can't do."
Asked if the PM regrets the policy, the spokesman added: "I would point back to the purpose of that policy, specifically to help the hospitality sector.
"They've obviously gone through a very difficult time through the pandemic and you're aware of why we introduced that policy to try and ensure that sector that has been affected so much."
