With thousands of pubs closed for good and many more on the brink due to the pandemic the industry faces a bleak future unless Rishi Sunak steps in with a rescue plan, landlords warn.
And the Daily Mirror is demanding the Chancellor uses today's Budget to deliver a lifeline to the nation’s much-loved locals.
Mr Sunak is expected to announce a range of measures he claims will help boozers - including extending VAT cuts until the summer. But landlords warn they do not go far enough and will not allow pubs to build up profits lost after months of closures, putting jobs and livelihoods at risk.
It comes as a report found nearly 12,000 licenced premises have shut for ever since December 2019.
Mr Sunak recently boasted: “It’s because I care about that industry and the people who work in it that I want to try to do what I can for those jobs. They should feel reassured they remain uppermost in my mind.”
But landlords now want him to turn those words into action.
What is your view? Have your say in the comments section
The Chancellor, who last night had a phone call with the Queen, will announce an extension to furlough until the end of September. He is expected to keep the VAT cut on pubs and restaurants until at least June, along with the business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure.
The Treasury has also announced a £150million pot to help communities take over local pubs and reports say all duties on alcohol will also be frozen. But industry chiefs have called on Mr Sunak to go further if he is serious about saving hospitality jobs.
The British Beer and Pub Association is demanding beer duty is slashed instead of frozen while trade body UKHospitality is calling for the VAT cut and business rates holiday to be extended for a year.
The UK pays £3.6billion in beer duty each year – more than Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Ireland combined.
UKHospitality chief Kate Nicholls said: “There is no point extending the support until just June. If they do so then they will be taking away the life support at the wrong time.
“The sector will be emerging with very high debt and needs time to get up and running.”
British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin added: “The Great British pub is woven into the very fabric of our society, culture and heritage.
“It is where we celebrate major life events. It is where we go to meet and connect.
“Pubs are a force for good, and the Government must do all it can to protect and support our cherished locals.” Pubs in England are due to be able to open outdoors from April 12 at the earliest, and indoors from May 17.
However, the full lifting of restrictions will not happen until late June, at the earliest.
The Treasury has received more than £2billion in business rates relief back from supermarkets which the Mirror has demanded be used to help boozers and other hospitality as part of our Save Our Pubs campaign.
New research by experts CGA reveals the scale of the carnage endured by hospitality firms, even with the support. It found 11,894 licenced premises have closed since Christmas 2019. Of those, 3,145 were pubs, with more than half of them community locals. In January alone – with the country in lockdown – 1,749 shut.
The CGA report said: “Government support and renewed investment will be needed to arrest this serious decline and, in time, counter the closures with new openings.
“If there are any positives to be taken at the moment, they are that there is huge pent-up demand for hospitality among consumers.”
CGA found “red wall” constituencies, traditional Labour heartlands that switched to the Tories at the last general election, have proportionately seen a highest rate of closures.
The report revealed since December 2019, 9.3% of boozers in those areas have gone – and ore than 17% since 2015
A survey has found the vast majority of nightclubs, bars and others that open late are banking on the Budget to survive. The Night Time Industries Association said nearly 79% of members were “solely relying” on the measures outlined today to keep going.
Chief executive Michael Kill said: “We are extremely concerned that the Chancellor’s announcement will fall short of what businesses and workers in the night time economy need to survive. Nothing that has been briefed to the media ahead of the Budget indicates the Chancellor understands the scale of the catastrophe facing UK nightlife.”
We lose cashe if we only open outside
Pub: The Chandos Arms
Where? Colindale, North London
Emily and Are Kolltviet run this classic pub that was built in the 1920s.
But they say this year things have felt hopeless.
The couple added: “There has been so much uncertainty, not knowing what financial help we would or wouldn’t get.
"But we’re going to reopen with a bang in May.
“We have a small outdoor area but we’re reluctant to reopen on April 12 because it means we’re not capable of running at full capacity.
"If we can’t run the business to a certain level, we’re losing money.”
Can't wait to walk through its doors
Pub: The Coachmakers Arms
Where? Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
Mervyn Edwards, like many regulars, is drawn to the 19th-century bar by its beautiful coal fire and cosy setting for chats.
He says: “It is one of the best pubs in the city if you want to understand what Stokies are really like.
“Once the drink starts to flow in these intimate rooms, people lower their shields and chat informally about the great conundrums of life – Europe, climate change, religion and whether it’s best to have red or brown sauce on your toasted cheese.
“Whenever I enter, I know I am going to leave a more educated man. I cannot wait until I can walk through those doors again.”
So Sorry for firms that can't survive
Pub: Crown Hotel
Where? Wigan
Lynn and Stephen Salter were a week shy of seeing in their first 12 months in charge when the lockdown forced them to shut.
They said: “In that short time, we turned the pub around, opening up more and splashed out on a revamp.
“Of course, we are really missing all our customers who have helped us along this hard journey.
“There are so many things we have in mind that we want to do over the coming months and years all centred around charities.
“Pubs really are at the heart of the community. We feel so sorry for the pubs and businesses that will not survive this.”
Money pot now empty
Pub: Red Lion
Where? Chobham, Surrey
Garry Tallent took over in 2019 and has had a lot of sleepless nights this past year.
He added: “We need to do 80 to 100 covers a day on food and drink to stay afloat and in the garden there’s only 20 to 30 places.
“If it does rain or it’s windy, you can’t let people indoors so they’ll just go home. Right now the pot is empty.”
Gastro is a focal point
Pub: The Edge at Joey Orr’s
Where? Walton, Liverpool
Regular Joe Barnacle says he’s always dished up a treat whenever he drops by the listed building and former bank.
He added: “Our local is more than just a pub, it is a fabulous gastro the community depends on.
"During lockdown, they provided over 2,000 free meals. We all await the reopening.”
What we know...
- £300m “sports recovery package”
- £408m extra for museums, theatres and art galleries in England, including £300m extra into the Culture Recovery Fund and £18m for “culture projects in regional towns and cities”
- £2.8m for World Cup 2030 UK bid
- £250,000 grants from a £150m pot to help community groups take over struggling local pubs
- Extend the furlough scheme to September
- Announce fourth grant for self-employed workers
- Extend £20 Universal Credit uplift for six months
- Lengthen business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
- Keep the VAT cut for hospitality and tourism
- Extend stamp duty holiday
- Put up corporation tax to as much as 25%
- Reform capital gains tax in line with income tax rates
- Boost apprenticeships with £126m for 40,000 more traineeships
- Pubs, restaurants and shops to get £5billion grant scheme to help reopen
- Return of 95% mortgages, with government-backed guarantees for banks
- Freeze beer and fuel duty – but cigarette prices could go up
- Establish a dedicated unit to crack down on Covid-19 fraudsters
- Announce sovereign green savings bond for retail investors
Visit www.longlivethelocal.pub to sign the petition to cut beer tax
