Support package given to pubs and venues by the government

The government will be giving pubs and music and venues in England a 15% discount to their business rates bills. The reductions will start from April and will not see an increase for two years.

Previously, the government received backlash to November’s Budget, where many businesses saw a major increase to their business rates bills. Labour MPs were banned from over a thousand pubs as a result.

According to the Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson, the three-year package would be worth £1,650 for the average pub in 2026-2027.

In its first year, the government say the package will cost 80 million pounds. The next two years will then be valued by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Pubs are considered the “cornerstone of so many communities” according to Tomlinson. He stressed the importance of supporting them ever since the number of venues had dropped by nearly 7,000 since 2010.

A bar with lots of drinks, shot by Charlotte Spicer

Despite the changes, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride dismissed the announcement, who described it as a “sticking plaster”.

“Is this it?” Asked Stride.

“After weeks of telling our local pubs that help was on the way, this is all they get?”

He said the measures would “only delay the pain for a while” before warning that “thousands of businesses despair as their bills skyrocket”.

Hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in the hospitality sector are also said to be at risk, according to UK Hospitality. They are calling for the support package to be widened.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat Treasury Daisy Cooper, said pubs will still face higher business rates bills. For other high street businesses, it did “nothing at all”.

She recommended an increase to business rate discounts for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, and for an “emergency” VAT cut for the hospitality sector for a year.

Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association Emma McClarkin said the organisation would support pubs with the accelerating business costs. The organisation will also look to focus on long-term reforms to business rates.