The Morning Advertiser conducted a survey, asking readers their thoughts on the Autumn Statement announcement.
When asked ‘Has the Autumn Statement gone far enough to help pubs’ 2% of the 156 respondents said it had.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt addressed the House of Commons where he outlined a number of measures the Government is taking to ‘tackle the cost of living crisis and rebuild the UK economy’.
Wage rise
He revealed there would be a rise in national living wage of almost 10%, meaning those aged 23 and over will earn £10.42 an hour.
Hunt also stated the 20% VAT rate would remain until March 2026 despite numerous calls from the sector for a tax cut.
The Chancellor, who also stated National Insurances Contributions (NICs) will be frozen, said in his speech: “While I've decided to freeze the employers NICs threshold until April 2028, we will retain the employment allowance at its new higher level of £5,000. This means 40% of all businesses will pay no NICs at all.
“The VAT threshold is already more than twice as high as the EU and OECD averages. I will maintain it at that level until March 2026.”
Government statement
Many from the industry have been urging the Government to reduce VAT in a bid to help battle against the current headwinds facing the sector.
This included a demonstration taking place prior to the statement (Monday 14 November), which aimed to raise awareness of the trade’s challenges with the Government.
The protest had three calls for the Government – a reduction of VAT to 10% for food and drink, a business rates holiday or reduction and a visa scheme to allow overseas staff into the country to help deal with the recruitment crisis.
In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, he also announced business rates relief would be extended and increased from 50% to 75% up to £110,000 per business.