Following the Spring Budget earlier this week, Woodforde’s Brewery CEO Joe Parks told The Morning Advertiser “time will tell” how long the details would be “applicable” but with an election on the horizon, more needs to be done to “win over” the sector.
He said: “Another budget has concluded – and once again the needs of the hospitality industry and its calls for greater support fell on deaf ears.
“To be disappointed you would have to have an expectation – and I don’t have any expectations in this Government anymore.
“With an election looming, time will tell how long the announcements in this budget will be applicable, but one thing is for sure – whoever finds themselves chancellor come the Autumn statement will have a lot to prove to win over an industry so rightfully frustrated.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt addressed Parliament to deliver the Spring Budget on Wednesday 6 March, declaring the alcohol duty would remain frozen until February 2025 in a bid to “back the great British pub”.
No hope or confidence
In addition, Hunt also announced the VAT threshold at which small businesses and self-employed people have to register would increase from £85,000 to £90,000 as well as a 2p cut to National Insurance contributions for employees effective from 6 April.
However, no action was taken to address cost pressure surrounding VAT and business despite repeated pleas from all corners of the sector for a VAT cut or reformation of business rates.
“The budget did not give any businesses the hope or confidence to inspire investment in the hospitality industry in the long run.
“While the freeze on alcohol duty was welcome, it is effectively a tax on leisure, and I do not think it will make a real difference to the realities the hospitality industry faces.
“We have been calling for a VAT cut for hospitality businesses for years to reflect the huge benefits they bring to the economy.
“There needs to be a real change in strategic approach to how we are going to resolve the problems the hospitality industry faces. That was never going to be achieved by a few lines in the budget.”
“This country is losing pubs and breweries every week, and something needs to be done to save them and the hardworking people working in this industry”, Parks continued.
Earlier this month, Hydes Brewery managing director, Adam Mayers, also shared his lack of faith in both the Conservative and Labour Governments.
Moreover, recent data from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) showed 194 pubs had been lost forever in 2023, representing 64m fewer pints sold and around £103m in lost revenue for local economies.
“Thankfully we are in the position at Woodforde’s to make investments in our business over the next year and have ambitious plans for growth. But there are brilliant breweries at risk who are not in such a lucky position”, the CEO added.
And Parks is not alone in his frustration with this week’s Budget, voices from across the sector also shared their “disappointment” at the announcements.
Increasingly challenging market
Night-Time Industries Association (NTIA) said the Government had sent a clear message that hospitality firms were “on their own” while UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls detailed how the alcohol duty freeze was unlikely to benefit most firms.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, leader of the Labour party Keir Starmer also shared his dismay, describing Hunt's Spring Budget as "delusional" and the result of a "party that has failed".
Parks concluded: “Politicians need to remember pubs aren’t just watering holes, they are community assets that deliver real social value, and the breweries which supply their beer are continuing to work incredibly hard under increasingly challenging market conditions.
“Ultimately there needs to be a real change in strategic approach to how we are going to resolve the problems the hospitality industry faces. That was never going to be achieved by a few lines in the budget.”
