Consultation on the Government’s new 10-year plan for the economic, tasked with delivering certainty and stability to businesses and encourage investment, closed on Sunday 24 November.
Some eight industries were highlighted in the plans, including advanced manufacturing, defence, creative industries, digital and technologies, financial services and clean energy industries. The hospitality sector was not included in the strategy.
By neglecting the sector, the Government has risked “endangering the economy, job market and growth”, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has warned.
The trade body stated the “oversight was alarming”, adding the Government must recognise pubs and breweries as “vital cogs in the machinery that drives the UK economy forward”.
BBPA director of strategy and policy Andy Tighe said: “The Industrial Strategy is a real opportunity for Government to enable brewers and pubs to help build a brighter, more prosperous UK.
“However, it is alarming the sector is currently overlooked in the strategy. Brewers and pubs pour billions into the economy, support more than 1m jobs from farmers to publicans, and are at the heart of local economies and communities throughout the UK.
Intrinsically linked
“We stand ready to help Government swiftly deliver the change that is needed to break down the barriers stopping our sector from contributing even more to the economy and employing more people than ever before.”
In addition, the trade body detailed regulatory burdens, high tax rates, access to skills and employment, and the high cost of doing business, including soaring energy costs, were holding the sector back and must be addressed.
The BBPA also highlighted neglecting the sector could not only lead to financial and employment ramifications, but heritage ones too, adding pubs and breweries are “intrinsically linked” to the UK’s cultural and social fabric.
Moreover, the association said pubs play a “foundational role” in creating communities where people want to live and work, which is a core component of the Industrial Strategy.
This comes as research from the BBPA earlier this week showed while pubs employ more young people than ever before, the measures announced in the autumn budget halt recruitment in the sector.
Also responding to the Government’s Industrial Strategy, UKHospitality (UKH) warned policies that favour the eight prioritised sectors over the wider economy would “risk the success of the strategy” and “limit its impact “on the breadth of the UK.
The trade body called for the creation of a Foundation Economy Sector Council, which would ensure foundation sectors, like hospitality, can “thrive and contribute” to the success of the eight industries highlighted.
Disproportionate impact
It added the “regressive nature” of the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) in the Budget would “disproportionately impact” hospitality and have a “comparatively minimal impact” on larger sectors the strategy has been built around.
UKH deputy chief executive Allen Simpson said: “The focus on only eight high economic productivity sectors, in only some parts of the UK, risks meaning the majority of the people in the country are shut out.
“We saw from the impact of the Budget on lower earners what happens when we forget the everyday economy.
“It also risks the success of the strategy itself. Investors tell us that quality of life is a bigger driver of investment decisions than anything like tax or regulation.
“To put it simply, companies want good pubs, good restaurants, good coffee and good places to live. Hospitality delivers that.
“That’s why a Foundation Economy Sector Council is crucial to retain that focus and utilise hospitality’s ability to create places where people want to live, work and invest.”
The final industrial strategy is set to be published in spring next year, alongside the multi-year spending review.