Hospitality Sector

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

We now come to the second Opposition Day motion. I inform the House that Mr Speaker has not selected any amendments. I call the shadow Secretary of State to move the motion.

15:19

[Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House regrets the combination of catastrophic choices made by the Government causing the closure, downsizing and lack of hiring by pubs, restaurants, hotels and hospitality businesses across the United Kingdom, with an estimated 84,000 job losses over the last 12 months and an average of two site closures per day in the first half of 2025; further regrets the Government’s policies that have led to this such as the omission of the hospitality sector from the Government’s industrial strategy, increases in the cost of pavement licences, the reduction in retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief from 75 per cent to 40 per cent for 2025-26, the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions to 15 per cent and the lowering of the secondary threshold to £5,000, and measures in the Employment Rights Bill which will make hospitality employers liable for the behaviour of customers and others; and calls on the Government to publish a dedicated strategy for the sector, to consult with hospitality employers prior to any future changes to the National Living Wage, to amend the Employment Rights Bill to protect seasonal and flexible employment practices vital to the sectors’ contribution in providing a ladder into employment for young and often excluded groups and to introduce targeted support measures to prevent further business closures, job losses and damage to local communities.

From the great British pub to the family-run restaurant, from the small seaside bed and breakfast to world-leading hotels, hospitality businesses are the beating heart of our communities, our high streets and our economy. Yet today, under Labour, they are hurting like never before. We were promised a Government for jobs, for opportunity and for prosperity. What have we got instead? A concoction of catastrophic choices causing a lack of hiring and the closure and downsizing of pubs, restaurants, hotels and hospitality businesses across the nation; a jobs tax that goes out of its way to savage the part-time, entry-level opportunities that hospitality offers in abundance; soaring business rates; and over 300 pages of additional job-killing red tape.

[Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

My hon. Friend might have been like me: the first job I ever had was as a porter, and then a barman, at the Crown and Mitre hotel in Carlisle. These are opportunities for people who are coming into the labour market for the first time or trying to get back into the labour market. The hospitality sector offers opportunity to people who otherwise have none, and that opportunity has come under devastating attack from this Government.

[Andrew Griffith]

My right hon. Friend is exactly right. Opportunity is a word we are going to hear again and again, because of the huge contribution that the hospitality sector makes to the economy and to getting people on the ladder of opportunity with their first job in life.

[Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)]

rose—

[Andrew Griffith]

The hon. Gentleman is trying to get his first opportunity, and I will give him that. We are going to have a good debate, and I will make some progress after this.

[Mr Quigley]

Does the hon. Gentleman acknowledge that, under the Tories, a pub closed every 14 hours? That was 10,000 in total, so whether it is 14 hours or 14 years, the Tory party cannot be trusted with the economy.

[Andrew Griffith]

All I can suggest, and I say this in all seriousness, is that the hon. Gentleman should spend a lot more time in local pubs in his constituency, because the people there will talk about the horror show that is the Employment Rights Bill. They will talk to him about the soaring business rates, the reduction in relief under this Government and the national insurance job tax—that swingeing £25 billion attack on the private economy.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

If we are going to exchange numbers, does my hon. Friend agree that it is shocking that over 1,000 pubs and restaurants have closed since the autumn Budget, and that 84,000 hospitality workers have lost their jobs? That is one in every 25 since the autumn Budget alone—and that was when the autumn Budget was actually in the autumn. Does he agree that that is having an impact on our high streets and the very viability of our local town centres and that it needs to stop? The Government need to stop holding our hospitality sector responsible for everything that happens in the local economy.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. We must keep interventions short. We have close to 50 people trying to contribute today.

[Andrew Griffith]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. It is about the numbers, and it is important that we should be instrumented. This is a sector that is extremely well instrumented, and groups such as UKHospitality do a great job at calling out the impact. But it is not just about the numbers, because behind every one of those numbers is a story: a family, a striver, a risk taker, an entrepreneur, a community or a high street whose life is being sucked out of it by this Government. Hospitality is where the character of our nation lives, in the welcome of a restaurant host, the laughter in a dining room and the clink of a glass, and it is the fact that that life that is being extinguished that is so tragic.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

One thing that is not picked up in the figures is the fact that cafés and businesses up and down Hinckley and Bosworth are having to reduce the man-hours that people are working to reduce their staffing costs because of the taxes that are being put in place. This is a real problem. Does my hon. Friend agree that we are not getting the growth that we want in this country because people are having to deal with this toxic concoction of legislation and tax?

[Andrew Griffith]

I do agree. My hon. Friend puts it extremely well. It has been an enormously difficult summer. The weather should have been a tailwind, but the tailwind was not significant enough to offset the headwind of the impact of that jobs tax. And who does it hit? Labour Members say that they stand up for opportunities for young people and the most vulnerable, but the change to national insurance thresholds in particular—the reduction from £9,100 to £5,000—has hit the part-time workers, the young mums trying to balance the responsibilities of family life and the young people trying to get their very first step on the ladder.

In her first Budget, the Chancellor said that she had made her choices. Well, we warned her, businesses warned her and even the Office for Budget Responsibility warned her, and what has happened? As my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) said, 84,000 jobs have been lost in hospitality since the Chancellor took office. That is a Wembley stadium’s-worth of livelihoods shredded by this Labour Government, affecting the most vulnerable in society, those trying to juggle other commitments and young people trying to have their first shot in the world of work. If this Government are about protecting working people, I have to say they have a very odd way of showing it. It is not just us saying this. Last month, Kate Nicholls, the chair of UKHospitality, said:

“More than half of all job losses since October occurring in hospitality is further evidence that our sector has been by far the hardest hit by the Government’s regressive tax increases.”

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

On that point, does my right hon. Friend agree with my constituent, Stephen Montgomery, who is the director of the Scottish Hospitality Group, that the very circumstances he is setting out have brought the industry to the brink, and that unless the Government start listening, it is going to go over a cliff edge?

[Andrew Griffith]

As it happens, I was in Edinburgh yesterday, talking to representatives of the hospitality sector and the hard-pressed tourist sector, and they made exactly the same point to me.

This is unnecessary. It did not need to be this way. And to what end? An increase in the jobs tax to fund tax cuts for Mauritians and cookery classes for illegal migrants, or to let the bloated public sector work from home another day a week? If proof were needed of where hospitality ranks in the priorities of this Government, we need look no further than the pages of their own industrial strategy, because in 160 pages of closely typed text and hundreds of thousands of words, the word “hospitality” features just three times, one of which was a typo where they misspelt the word “hospital”. Let’s be frank, their attitude to hospitality is lamentable, and the bad news just keeps coming.

No Government that understood business would ever come forward with the Employment Rights Bill. Tony Blair did not. Gordon Brown did not. It is 330 pages that prove this Government are not serious about growth. They have zero appreciation for the seasonal and flexible work that suits the workers and the hospitality and tourism businesses alike. They are conscripting pub landlords into an attack on freedom of speech with a banter ban on overheard remarks—not harassment, but remarks that somebody could construe, misdirected at them, as offensive.

Any small business owner will say that the two words they fear the most in the English language are “employment tribunal”, yet the Government want to legislate to grow even further the half a million cases that are already in the employment tribunal backlog. There is no point concocting and cooking up additional workplace rights if people cannot find a job in the first place. That is why the top five business groups in the UK—almost exceptionally—wrote an open letter saying that the impact on growth will be deeply damaging and lead to job losses and recruitment freezes. That is here right now; that is what is happening on our high streets and in our communities across this country thanks to this Government damaging the hospitality sector.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

I agree with the hon. Member on the point about employer national insurance contributions, but in the Press and Journal today—one of the august daily papers in Scotland—there are reports that highland hoteliers are struggling to recruit. The large part of the blame for that is laid at the door of Brexit, and the current immigration policy does nothing to help the highlands and islands in Scotland. There is demand for a rural visa, which is fully backed by the Federation of Small Businesses—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. I remind Members that there are 45 of you wishing to speak. Interventions must be a lot shorter. I am sure the shadow Minister has got the hon. Gentleman’s point.

[Andrew Griffith]

The ability of people to find work in this wonderful sector, which provides those wonderful opportunities is, yes, a function of access to the labour market, but it is also a function of an employer’s ability to take that risk on somebody—to take a chance and give them that opportunity.

I think we would all agree—occasionally we hear positive noises from those on the Government Front Bench before they are reigned into line by their own Back Benchers—that it would be far better for our nation and our out-of-control public finances if the 9 million people of working age could seize the opportunity presented by sectors like hospitality, which offers flexible working and the chance to start a career, and could join the workforce, regardless of which constituency they come from. Almost uniquely, hospitality is a sector whose contribution to our constituencies is something of which each and every one of us—all 45 of us who wish to speak today—is proud. That contribution is why Conservative Members value the sector so strongly.

[Sorcha Eastwood (Lagan Valley) (Alliance)]

The shadow Minister talks about the 45 people wanting to speak. My first job was in hospitality. I want my young constituents in Lagan Valley to have the same opportunity, but does he agree that with these tax increases and not giving VAT cuts, it is so difficult for our hospitality businesses?

[Andrew Griffith]

I absolutely agree that we have to do everything we can to help. This is about tax and employment, because one of the characteristics that hospitality, tourism and retail share is the significant amount of employment they offer, but it is also about other taxes. It is about the tax system; that is why I referred in the motion and in my opening remarks to a concoction.

Take business rates, for example. From a business perspective, they are a terrible tax; they are paid before a business has made a single pound, and they get fewer and fewer services from local government in return. When we were in government, we shielded the sector with generous reliefs and exemptions, yet one of the first acts of this Government was to more than double business rates for many in retail and hospitality. I agree with Emma McClarkin, the CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, who says that “punishing rates and regulations” are at the heart of why so many pubs are closing.

This Government do not get business—and no wonder: there are more alumni of the Resolution Foundation in government now than there are Ministers who have ever run a business. I think many of them had their first opportunity in hospitality, but very few of them, sadly, stayed there. Business is not about numbers on some page in a policy wonk’s pamphlet. We are talking about real people who took a risk, put their capital to work, gave their time and energy, and, as a result, grew our communities and the economy—people like those running the award-winning Tottington Manor in my constituency, Chalk restaurant in Wiston, the warm and welcoming Three Moles in Selham and the innovative Kinsbrook vineyard in West Chiltington.

It is not just hospitality businesses being ravaged by these state-imposed headwinds; thousands of businesses say they are being impacted and are at risk because of these measures. We are witnessing collapse on many of our high streets, and in the Minister’s own constituency of Rhondda and Ogmore, Porth has lost its last clothes shop because of rising costs imposed by his Government.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Last weekend, I attended the reopening of a wonderful pub in my constituency: the Star in Llansoy. It was one of the 10,000 pubs that shut on the Conservatives’ watch, and it has now been reopened by the community. Does the shadow Minister agree that our policies are giving businesses confidence to reopen?

[Andrew Griffith]

My background is in business, and I celebrate anybody who succeeds and takes a risk in business, including the hospitality venue in the hon. Lady’s constituency. One of the innovations that the previous Government pursued was the community ownership fund, which I know from personal experienced saved or helped many hospitality venues. Sadly, it has lost its way under this Government.

I will conclude my remarks to allow as many colleagues as possible to speak. Let us be crystal clear about this. [Interruption.] There is nothing funny about this debate and what is happening in hospitality right now—people are losing their jobs. We cannot tax, regulate or spend our way to growth. Every pint pulled, every plate served and every bed made grows our economy: a job provided, a supplier supported, life breathed into a community. No Government are perfect, which is why it is often best for the state to stay out of the way. Yet under Labour, this vital, valued sector is being punished, not rewarded. This Government do not protect workers by destroying the businesses that employ them. They cannot claim to lead our country while draining the very life from so many communities.

British hospitality businesses deserve better. The Conservatives will always stand with those who dare to dream, invest, build and hire. We stand for every business, big and small, that is fighting to keep its lights on. We stand for every young person desperate for their first shot at work. Above all, we stand for the growth that this country so desperately needs.

15:36

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

If I might, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will start with an apology. As I told the shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston), last night, I am not able to be here for the end of this debate—I do apologise.

[Hon. Members]

Oh no!

[Chris Bryant]

Well, I am glad that people like me being here—that is very kind. I am not going to be kind for the rest of my speech, so the shadow Business Secretary, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), should not get used to that.

What an absolute joy it is to see the shadow Business Secretary up close. He must think that amnesia has hit the whole country. I mean, he was the business adviser to Boris Johnson—and we know what expletive Boris Johnson used when referring to business, don’t we? Did the shadow Business Secretary resign as a Minister when all the others were resigning, though? Oh no, he lashed himself to the Boris Johnson mast until the very end. In February of last year, still he was calling for the return of Johnson.

But that is not all, is it? When it came to the lettuce-defying catastrophe known as the Liz Truss premiership, the shadow Business Secretary was not just a casual supporter; he was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. He actually helped to put together that disastrous Budget. He was not just in the room when it happened, to quote “Hamilton”; he held the pen! He was Kwasi’s amanuensis; he was Truss’s handmaiden. This is a man who could not see the writing on the wall even if it were spitting out fire 50 metres high. Even when the Bank of England had been forced to act to shore up the economy following the mini-Budget, he went out to defend it.

[Graham Stuart]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wonder whether you have any advice for those in the hospitality industry listening to the Minister, who is so afraid to deal with the issue at hand that he has to resort to this ad hominem attack on our Front-Bench colleague.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order, and perhaps encourage all Members to ensure that they stay on topic and in scope this afternoon?

[Chris Bryant]

They don’t like it up ’em, do they, Madam Deputy Speaker?

The shadow Business Secretary then said,

“We think they’re the right plans because those plans make our economy competitive.”

The problem with the argument that he has made today is that he has not learned a single thing since that mini-Budget. He still wants us to tax less and spend more at the same time. Yes, of course he wants to reverse the national insurance increase, but does he point to where the money should come from? No, of course he doesn’t. He likes the additional spending on the NHS, he approves of our spending on prisons, he supports more spending on policing, and he clamours for more spending on defence—and, no doubt, on trains, telecoms, universities and schools—but he does not want to pay for it, which is why it is as plain as a pikestaff that he has not changed a bit. He would re-run the Truss mini-Budget in the twinkling of an eye. It was doolally economics when Truss introduced it and it is doolally economics today. I give you, Madam Deputy Speaker, the Minister for doolally economics. Let me deal with two specific points that he made.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I will make a couple of points; then of course I will give way to the Father of the House.

The shadow Business Secretary condemned what he calls the reduction in retail hospitality and leisure business rates relief from 75% to 40% for 2025-26. Does the House note the sleight of hand there? When the Conservatives left office, they had no plans to extend the business rates relief beyond the financial year, and hospitality was facing a complete cliff edge, going from 75% relief to zero relief—so I am proud that our Chancellor introduced the 40% relief. I am also proud that the Government are creating a fairer business rates system that will protect the high street, support investment and is fit for the 21st century. The Conservatives had 14 years to do that. Did they bring in any amendment that would have improved the situation for hospitality? Nary a one.

We recognise the vital role that hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth and strengthening economic cohesion across the country. That is why from 2026-27, this Government intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values of less than £500,000. That is a permanent tax cut to ensure that hospitality benefits from much-needed certainty and support.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

This is all good, amusing, knockabout stuff—nothing wrong with that—but will the Minister say a few words of comfort to the small family businesses that are closing all over the country and about whether, as the Minister with responsibility for hospitality, he is making representations to the Chancellor to relieve some of those small businesses from such taxes in the Budget?

[Chris Bryant]

I will be very straightforward with the right hon. Gentleman: of course we recognise the problems that small businesses are having—I have heard from many—and I am about to come to the issue of national insurance contributions, which I accept, of course, have provided difficulties to many different businesses. However, it is all very well everyone campaigning against the tax, but if they are not prepared to say where the billions are to come from otherwise, then they will the ends but they do not will the means.

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

Last week, saw the opening of West Bromwich’s brand-new indoor market and the return of the much-loved Firkins bakery. People were queuing from 7 am for the famous lemon iced buns that Firkins has sold for many years. Does the Minister agree that food and hospitality are at the heart of our high streets, would he like to come to taste one of those iced buns, and does he agree that that is what we can achieve when Labour Governments work with Labour councils and communities?

[Chris Bryant]

I am more of a Chelsea bun person than an iced bun person, but my hon. Friend makes a good point: there are businesses up and down the country opening anew and afresh. Far from such businesses dismissing the opportunity of having a national health service that works more effectively, a rail service that works effectively and a secure set of working rights for people; they welcome that provision, and they want people to have a proper wage when in work because they know that motivates their staff better.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Talking of businesses opening, in my constituency of Harlow we have just welcomed a new branch of IKEA. It is the first business in my constituency that has spoken to me about the Employment Rights Bill; it is really excited about it and wants us to hurry up and get on with it—[Interruption.] It is no wonder that IKEA employees across the country are very happy in their jobs, are loyal to their jobs and like working for that company.

[Chris Bryant]

I agree. I note that an awful lot of Conservative MPs are saying, “Oh, they’re Swedish”, as if foreign investment in the UK were a bad idea. [Interruption.] Yes, that is what they were doing—they can furrow their brows as much as they want.

The shadow Secretary of State pointed to the increases in employer national insurance contributions. Yes, of course the Government have taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, to fund public services and to restore economic stability after the situation that we inherited from the previous Administration, but I have to point out to the hon. Gentleman—because he does not seem to understand the facts—that the hospitality sector is made up predominantly of smaller businesses, and we took decisive steps to protect the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase in employer national insurance by increasing the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. That means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer national insurance contributions at all this year and that more than half of all employers will either gain or see no change. Employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the national living wage without paying a penny of employer national insurance contributions.

[Mr Quigley]

Unlike most, if not all, of the Conservative Members listed on the Order Paper as supporters of the motion, my wife and I own two successful hospitality businesses. We welcome the increase in national insurance contributions and the improvements in workers’ rights because they are good for our employees, our businesses and our customers. Does the Minister agree that the Tories only know how to race to the bottom and not how to give workers a leg up?

[Chris Bryant]

I passionately support what we have done about the national minimum wage. I remember when we had to sit through the night in this Chamber to ensure that the national minimum wage was introduced in the first place; incidentally, I remember that the Liberal Democrats voted against that, as well as the Conservatives. We want people who work for a decent number of hours every week to be able to put food on the table, pay a mortgage and give their children the opportunities in life that they may not have been able to achieve. That is why it is important that in this sector, perhaps above all other sectors, we ensure that people are properly paid.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)]

UKHospitality says:

“At a time when the country needs jobs, the Government should be encouraging hospitality to grow and create jobs, not tax them out of existence.”

Is it right or wrong?

[Chris Bryant]

We are not taxing them out of existence, as I have tried to explain to the hon. Gentleman. He is another one of those people who is awfully nice when you meet him in the bar—[Interruption.] The shadow Secretary of State is saying that that sounds terrible, but he was saying earlier that every single pint that is pulled represents an increase to the economy, so the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti) helped out. The point that I am trying to make—not very well—is that it is impossible to simply say, “We are not going to tax,” and still want to see the same level of expenditure. That is what got us into the trouble in the Truss Budget, and for family finances that meant—

[Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) (Con)]

On that point, will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I will not give way again. That meant that mortgage rates rose faster than they have ever risen in our history, which made it almost impossible for people to survive economically.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

The Minister is an entirely charming chap and a great entertainer—I worry that his Equity card might be getting out of date. He praises the changes that have been made to the employment conditions of bar staff, for example, but does he really think that it is a good idea to have them policing the comments of people who use public houses, when it takes as many as five members of the constabulary to arrest a comedian over inappropriate tweets?

[Chris Bryant]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly legitimate point. No, of course I do not want that. I want the police officers in my constituency to be policing the streets, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said this morning, not policing tweets or private conversations between individuals—[Interruption.] I have made my point. The police in my constituency, where, incidentally, we lost large numbers of police officers during the time that the Conservative Government were in office, are hard pressed enough to deal with the problems they have without trying to take on ludicrous and preposterous elements as well.

My biggest complaint about the speech made by the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs is that he is so determined to do down the Government that he ends up dragging down the sector as well. The honest truth is that the UK hospitality sector is absolutely amazing. Whether it is the Lake district, the night life in Manchester and London, the gastropubs in the Cotswolds, the movie locations up and down the land, the Royal Oaks, the White Harts, the Red Lions, the Prospect of Whitbys, the Moon Under Waters, the Eagle and Childs, Bamburgh castle, Chester zoo, which I loved visiting last week to feed the giraffes, the British Museum, all the V&As and the Tates, Windsor castle—the pub and the castle—Stratford-upon-Avon—

[Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)]

rose—

[Chris Bryant]

Whether it is St Mary Redcliffe, Canterbury cathedral, the O2 or the Stadium of Light, we should celebrate every single part of our hospitality industry across the whole of the UK and be proud that we are British.

[Manuela Perteghella]

Does the Minister agree that in Stratford-upon-Avon, hospitality is not just an industry, but the lifeblood of our visitor economy? Every pub, café or restaurant closure is a blow not only to jobs, but to our high street and our community’s sense of place.

[Chris Bryant]

Yes, and I would add another point to that. In Stratford-upon-Avon, as in many other parts of the United Kingdom, the hospitality industry, the tourism industry and the creative industries are intrinsically bound together. A number of people will go to the theatre, stay in a hotel, go to the Lazy Duck or one of the other pubs—apparently other pubs are available in Stratford-upon-Avon—and go to the most visited church in England, which is in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is a multifarious concoction of different industries that fit together, which is why we need to try to foster all of them so that they can all flourish together. The hon. Lady makes a very good point.

One of the arguments I have been trying to make is that as much as I love Stratford-upon-Avon—which, incidentally, is very difficult to get to by train; that is one of the things I would dearly love for us to sort out—a lot of international tourists come only to London and the south-east and perhaps to Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford and Edinburgh. I want them to see the whole diversity of the hospitality industry and the tourism sector across the whole of the United Kingdom.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I was looking in the direction of the right hon. Gentleman, so I think I will have to take his intervention first. I will then take an intervention from my hon. Friend.

[Mr Carmichael]

I think the Minister may need to add a few more island venues to his travel itinerary in the future. May I take him back to the question of tax? He is right to say that if we will a reduction in tax, we should look for a reduction in expenditure, but it does not always work like that. When we cut the rate of duty on spirits, we did it with the expectation of a loss of £600 million, but it actually brought an increase of £800 million. That can sometimes happen. For years, the UK hospitality sector has been asking for a reduced rate of VAT on its services, and that would be sector specific. It has given evidence, backed by some of the biggest consultancies in the area, that that would in fact bring an increased tax take. Will the Minister make that point to the Treasury?

[Chris Bryant]

At nearly every meeting that I have with any sector in my portfolio, the sector says to me, “Can we have a cut in VAT?” While people in the hospitality sector have said to me many times that they would like a cut in VAT, that is also said by people in the theatre industry and a whole series of others. These are matters for the Chancellor, not for me, as the right hon. Gentleman well knows.

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about islands. We are an island nation, and we should embrace that as part of our tourism and hospitality industry across the whole of the UK. Specific challenges arise for coastal areas and islands, and I hope we will be able to address those when we come to produce our tourism strategy later this year.

I will take an intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran), then I hope to make some progress.

[Uma Kumaran]

We have been talking about Stratford, but I am waiting to hear about Stratford and Bow in London, where I am really pleased that the Government are backing our bid for the 2029 world athletics championship. My constituency, like so many others, thrives when more tourists and visitors come from across the UK and overseas, but we want to see that spread across every region in the country. The Minister is developing a visitor economy growth strategy. Will he set out how it will spread tourism beyond London so that all the other regions can thrive as well?

[Chris Bryant]

One of the first things I did when I became the Minister was to set an ambitious target of reaching 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030; we are at something like 43 million visitors at the moment. If we are going to get to that target of 50 million visitors, we will have to ensure that we have the mix of accommodation across the whole United Kingdom. That poses some challenges around how we deal with short-term lets to ensure that there is more of an even playing field and that coastal areas and areas that are heavily dependent on tourism do not end up being completely denuded when the tourists go away at the end of the season. We need to do more to extend the season so that it is not just the summer months. We can do a whole series of things to ensure that that happens, but this is not just about international visitors.

When an international visitor comes to the UK, they bring dollars, euros, yen or whatever it may be to the UK. That is a net gain to our economy, but I argue that when a domestic visitor decides, “You know what? I’m not going to go to Spain this year, because I know that there is so much here,” they will then stay in the UK, and that is a net gain for us as well. Frankly, there is also a climate in the summer in the UK that is rather more agreeable for human beings nowadays. We need to explore all those different elements.

My hon. Friend referred to the east end of London. Of course, quite a lot of sporting events happen in the east end of London, and sport is just as much of an intrinsic part of why people come to this country. The number of international visitors who come to the UK solely for a premiership match is very large, but the number of people who went to the theatre last year in the UK is double the number who went to a premiership match, so we need to get the whole of this sector moving as much as we possibly can. We need to make sure that there is investment in the right parts of the sector, and that that investment takes place across the whole of the United Kingdom.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Will the Minister give way on that point, very quickly?

[Chris Bryant]

It will not be quick—I know it will not, least of all my answer—but anyway.

[Dr Evans]

Wales has introduced a tourism tax, or is planning to do so. In light of what we are talking about today, can the Minister rule out the UK introducing a tourism tax in the upcoming Budget?

[Chris Bryant]

I am not going to do the Chancellor’s job, but we have no plans to introduce a tourism tax. Of course we are looking at different places in the country that have gone forward in different ways—Manchester, for instance, has a system that has been voluntarily agreed, and there is the situation in Scotland and in Wales, which the hon. Gentleman referred to. We want to look at how all of that progresses, but many people in the sector have made the point to me that they feel taxed enough. I do not know that we would want to add any more to that.

As I say, there is a job of work to be done on short-term lets, because it seems intrinsically unfair for somebody who is effectively providing hotel-like accommodation to not be subject to any of the same rules, or the same taxation, that a hotel—even a small hotel—would be. That is one of the areas in which we want to take forward the work that was done by the previous Government.

[Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)]

rose—

[Chris Bryant]

Every time I deal with something, another person stands up, but we have not had anybody from the SNP intervene yet.

[Chris Law]

Apart from my hon. Friend the Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter). I thank the Minister for highlighting the V&A museums, one of which is in my city of Dundee, which has numerous hospitality businesses. Scotland makes a £9 billion contribution to the UK Exchequer through hospitality, and 200,000 jobs depend on it. There are consequences from the national insurance contribution rises; for example, just this year, one third of venues in Scotland have reduced their staff numbers and almost one fifth have shortened their opening hours, which means fewer jobs, less income tax and less tax from profits.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. The interventions are very long. The Minister has now taken longer than the shadow Minister did in opening the debate. I am sure he will bring his remarks to a conclusion very soon.

[Chris Bryant]

I have just binned that bit of the speech, Madam Deputy Speaker.

When the Government took office, the sector was already under strain. The aftermath of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis left hospitality and tourism businesses facing real difficulties. In particular, domestic tourism had struggled to get back to pre-pandemic numbers, which is still the case in many parts of the country. We inherited a very distressed sector, but we have acted quickly and decisively to stabilise it, supporting jobs and laying the foundations for growth.

We continue our work to get people into jobs, in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions. The sector-based work academy programmes have seen nearly 10,000 starts in hospitality over less than two years, and we have extended the destination hospitality SWAPs to 26 areas across England, which aim to specifically help jobseekers gain the skills and experience needed to enter employment in hospitality and tourism. The one area in which I agree with the shadow Minister is that this is a unique sector in one sense: that a person can go from having no skills, no qualifications and no experience to being a skilled worker in the sector within six to nine months. That is absolutely transformational for many people, and I want to make sure that more young people in this country do not think of it just as a job, but as a career. Representatives of the sector have repeatedly told me that there is a skills shortage, particularly of people who are five or 10 years into the sector. We want more people to stay, because nearly every chief executive you meet in the sector is somebody who started on the shop floor—pulling pints, working as a barista, changing beds or something like that. For us as a Labour Government, this sector is essential to social mobility.

In July, the Government set out our plan for small businesses, which is the most comprehensive package of support for small and medium-sized businesses in a generation and will be transformational for the sector. We are slashing red tape to overhaul planning and licensing rules, making it quicker and easier for new cafés, bars and music venues to open in place of disused shops, and we are increasing access to finance for entrepreneurs through a massive £4 billion finance boost. We are ending the scourge of late payments, which cost the UK economy £11 billion annually and close 38 businesses daily. That is another issue that is repeatedly raised with me.

We are not complacent at all about the sector. We want to get 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030. As was mentioned earlier, we are preparing to publish a visitor economy growth strategy later this year. It will set out how the UK can capitalise on global opportunities, increase investments and strengthen the long-term resilience of the sector.

The hospitality and tourism sectors are the beating heart of our towns, cities and rural economies, as the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) said. They are vital to our high streets. They provide jobs and skills for young people, entry routes into work for those who might otherwise be excluded from work, and vital social spaces that bind our communities together. This Government will continue to back them with action, not rhetoric. Finally, I encourage every single Member of the House to find a business in the sector—not in their constituency, but in somebody else’s—that they can boost this weekend.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

16:00

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

The economic landscape is extremely difficult for many businesses and industries, and hospitality is one of the sectors facing the most acute challenges. Pubs, restaurants, cafés and hotels are dealing with huge pressures—unfair taxes, soaring energy bills, skills shortages, and a broken business rates system. The Labour Government have had more than a year to address these issues, but instead of throwing businesses a lifeline, their policies have only made it harder for businesses to keep their head above water. Changes to employers’ national insurance, the reduction in business rates relief and the absence of any meaningful action to bring down commercial energy prices are all factors contributing to job losses, business closures and stagnant economic growth.

Although this Government’s decisions have made things worse, business sentiment certainly was not rosy during the last Parliament. Years of dire economic mismanagement by the previous Government forced business owners to make cuts, hike prices and work longer hours. Even though we Liberal Democrats are supportive of today’s motion, we feel obliged to point out that the Conservative Government’s chaotic approach caused so many of these problems, including soaring energy costs, a staffing crisis, and the vast increase in regulation and red tape brought about by their dismal Brexit negotiations.

According to UKHospitality, the measures in last year’s autumn Budget delivered a hit to the sector worth a cumulative extra £3.4 billion annually. Meanwhile, data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the hospitality sector has shed nearly 70,000 jobs since last October. That works out as an astounding 3.2% of all jobs in the sector, and it is 266% higher than the number of jobs lost in the overall economy. Those figures lay bare the slow dismantling of the hospitality sector as a direct result of this Government’s policies. A recent survey conducted by UKHospitality found that since the autumn Budget, a third of hospitality businesses are now operating at a loss, with 60% cutting jobs, 75% having increased prices, and two thirds reducing staff hours. These cuts are a last-ditch attempt by businesses just to stay afloat as they cry out for support. Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy.

[John Milne (Horsham) (LD)]

This morning I received a letter from Kelly Mariner, the manager of an independent coffee shop in my constituency of Horsham. She said:

“Since the last Budget I have been unable to hire new staff and cannot grow my business. I am spending every day doing the job I love in front of the customers, but it means I can’t develop or follow up new ideas. Paperwork is a juggling act and I spend very little time with my family.”

She asked to meet me. Does my hon. Friend agree that meeting those in the hospitality industry is exactly what the Chancellor needs to do before digging her budgetary hole any deeper?

[Sarah Olney]

My hon. Friend gives a striking example of exactly what I was saying about the pressures faced by the hospitality sector. He is absolutely right that the Chancellor needs to hear these calls from the hospitality sector as she puts together her Budget, which we now expect at the end of November.

Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy. They are at the centre of our local communities, and they create the jobs we all rely on. We are glad that raising the employment allowance will shield the very smallest employers, but thousands of local businesses, including many in the hospitality sector, will still feel the damaging impact of the national insurance increase. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have voted against the Government’s misguided jobs tax at every opportunity, and I once again urge them to scrap these measures, but I also press the Minister to at least spare our treasured pubs, restaurants, café and hotels by exempting the hospitality sector from this tax rise. Whether they were aware of it or not, the Government’s decision to raise the rate of national insurance contributions while reducing the salary threshold at which it is levied has significantly increased the cost of employing part-time workers, delivering a disproportionately large blow to the hospitality sector.

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

The Minister has talked about social mobility. Does my hon. Friend agree that when a company cuts hours, it is those who work part time—some of the most disadvantaged members of society—who lose out, and lose their jobs?

[Sarah Olney]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. That is why this jobs tax has been so damaging, not just to the hospitality sector but to the many people who rely on the sector for flexible work that can fit in with their caring demands or other issues that they are experiencing.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)]

The hon. Lady is trotting out a whole load of helpful suggestions, of which the hospitality Minister is no doubt taking careful note for the time when he makes his representations—which he said he would not be making—to the Chancellor. Does the hon. Lady agree that he could also make recommendations to the Deputy Prime Minister, especially in relation to the Unemployment Bill, that would have no particular cost attached? I am thinking of the “banter ban”, which even the Equality and Human Rights Commission has said is absolutely bonkers, and is likely to make hospitality venues even less attractive to those who need to use them.

[Sarah Olney]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but I entirely disagree with him about the banter ban. The Liberal Democrats agree with the concerns expressed in the motion about the challenges facing the hospitality sector, but we do not agree with the part of the motion that expresses regret about measures in the Employment Rights Bill on workplace harassment, which we do not believe have been accurately represented. As is clear from what has been said by my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) and the significant work done on this issue by my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), we welcome the introduction of reasonable and workable measures to protect employees from harassment in their place of work.

The Government must take steps to boost the hospitality workforce, and that includes showing much more urgency in introducing a youth mobility scheme. It took nearly a year for them to listen to calls from the Liberal Democrats and others for the negotiation of a youth mobility system, and I hope that Ministers will not continue to drag their feet on an agreement that will truly benefit the hospitality sector. Changes implemented in April 2024 that increased the minimum salary threshold for skilled worker visas shrank the talent pool from which businesses can recruit, contributing to greater staff shortages, and in a 2024 survey of nearly 1,700 employers from a range of sectors, including hospitality, almost 40% of employers with hard-to-fill vacancies said that a reduction in the availability of overseas talent was one of the main causes of staffing issues. At a time when so many businesses are considering whether they can remain viable, we must give hospitality businesses the tools they need to grow and help boost the wider economy, and access to global talent is part of that. I therefore ask the Minister once again whether the Government will finally set out a timeline for the introduction of a youth mobility scheme.

We also need serious action from the Government on boosting the domestic workforce by supercharging apprenticeships and investing in skills and retraining opportunities. Can the Minister assure the House that Skills England will function as a properly independent body, with employee rights at its heart?

Businesses across the country continue to struggle with sky-high energy costs, and I recognise that the recent industrial strategy provided some welcome measures on that front, particularly for the manufacturing sector, but as the motion points out, there was very little in the strategy to help support hospitality firms with their soaring energy bills. Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for energy market reform, which would include reducing our reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports by investing in home-grown renewable energy. In recent months we have set out a plan to cut energy bills by half within 10 years by breaking the link between gas prices and electricity costs, so that households and businesses can see the benefits of cheap, clean power in lower energy bills.

[Mr Angus MacDonald (Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire) (LD)]

May I intervene, please?

[Sarah Olney]

Yes.

[Mr MacDonald]

It is difficult to get a word in. [Laughter.] I am married; I know about these things.

I have 100 staff members in the hospitality industry in the highlands, and I can say that all is not well in hospitality by any means. Those who are not on mains gas are paying for electricity, by and large, and we are paying four times as much for energy as people in the city. Moreover, we in Scotland do not receive the same business rates relief as the rest of the UK. [Interruption.] I thank my Scottish National party friends, who are sitting next to me. Our staffing costs, including employers’ national insurance contributions, have increased by 12.4%. So we have real problems, and I must say to the Minister that all is not well.

[Sarah Olney]

Well, I think I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. He is, of course, absolutely right about the cost of energy and the difficulties that it presents for businesses up and down the country. His point about Scotland in particular is well made. Will the Minister consider the proposals put forward in our plan, which could help to truly ease the burden not just on the hospitality sector, but people across the country?

Finally, I turn to business rates. Today’s motion rightly reflects many of the economic mistakes made by this Government. However, it is important to highlight that it was the last Conservative Government who broke their manifesto promise to reform business rates, leaving small businesses trapped in an outdated and unfair system. Of course, the current Government have also pledged to replace the system, with no action taken thus far. The Liberal Democrats will continue to hold Ministers accountable for their pledge, because there is a need for a fundamental overhaul of the unfair business rates system. It penalises manufacturers when they invest to become more productive and energy efficient; it leaves pubs and restaurants with disproportionally high tax bills; and it puts our high-street businesses at an unfair disadvantage, compared with online retail giants. In too many places, pubs, restaurants and shops are being forced to close, taking with them jobs, opportunities and treasured community spaces.

More broadly, the outdated tax system inhibits business investment, job creation and economic growth, holding back our national economy. These problems have persisted for too long, and it is high time the Government took action. Our proposals for fair reform would cut tax bills, breathe new life into local economies and spur growth. Equally importantly, they would provide long-term certainty for businesses, which in today’s commercial environment is needed more than ever.

The value of our hospitality sector goes beyond economics. Pubs, restaurants and cafés are the beating hearts of our towns; they brighten our high streets and bring our communities together. The economic landscape created by the last Government did so much to damage them, and this Government continue to push many to the brink of collapse. I hope today that Ministers will listen to the Liberal Democrats’ calls and reverse the jobs tax, bring forward plans for business rate reforms, and seriously consider our plans to cut energy bills for people and hospitality firms across the country.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

There is now a five-minute time limit.

16:12

[Olivia Bailey (Reading West and Mid Berkshire) (Lab)]

Over recess, I had the pleasure of visiting more than 20 fantastic small businesses in my constituency during my small business summer roadshow. My aim was to promote these businesses and hear what I can do to help them thrive. I visited a large number of hospitality businesses, including Nino’s in Pangbourne, the Avenue Deli in Calcot, Bradley’s Café and the Street Food Shack in Theale, Mortimer Café, Dee Caf on the Dee estate, Blackbird Café in Chapel Row, The Pantry in Yattendon, the Swan pub in East Ilsley and the Mad Duck in Purley. These wonderful businesses do not just serve amazing food and drink; they are at the heart of our community, providing places for people to be together—places where members of our community can look out for each other. I thank every single one of them for everything that they do.

From all the conversations I have had, I know how hard it can be to run a business. Owners face many costs, and can struggle to afford advertising or access finance, and there are high business rates and endless red tape. I am glad that the Government’s recently published small business strategy starts to address this. We are transforming business rates, introducing permanently lower multipliers for hospitality, cutting red tape and admin costs, expanding access to start-up loans and other finance, simplifying licensing, and establishing hospitality and night-time economy zones. For the many pubs and independent breweries in my constituency, we have also cut duty on draught products and are consulting on improving access for guest beers.

I thank the Conservative party for providing the opportunity for this debate, but I gently say to hon. Members that they have conveniently ignored the contribution that their 14 years in government made to the challenges they outline. Yes, this Government have had to make some tough choices in order to fix our public services, but it is the Conservative party that left our public services on their knees. It left a huge hole in the public finances and oversaw skyrocketing inflation, mortgage rate chaos and higher energy bills for everybody, including our businesses. It was on the Conservatives’ watch that families stopped being able to afford a meal out, because the Conservatives caused an unprecedented fall in living standards. It was on their watch that businesses had zero stability and certainty to plan for the future, because they went through Prime Ministers so fast that it felt like each one was a daily special.

[Sean Woodcock (Banbury) (Lab)]

We have heard a lot from opposition parties about the taxes they are not happy to see go up, but we have heard very little about the spending or investment that they would cut as a result of taxes going down. Does my hon. Friend not agree with me that this is a case of opposition parties having their Banbury cake and eating it?

[Olivia Bailey]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, and I thank him for his intervention.

This Government are cleaning up the mess that the Conservative party made, fixing the foundations of our economy by restoring stability and presiding over rate cut after rate cut. We are supporting people with the cost of living through measures such as expanding free childcare, tackling the antisocial behaviour and shoplifting that plague our high streets, and transforming the apprenticeships and skills system to train up young people and get them into secure jobs.

For Conservative Members to pretend that they presided over some sort of golden age of hospitality is simply farcical. Over 6,000 pubs and bars closed on their watch, with many high streets becoming nothing more than rows of shuttered shops. Yes, we have made some difficult decisions to get our public services back on track, and I firmly believe that that is the right thing to do for our country, and to step out of the black hole the Tories left us in. However, we are also focusing on positive measures to support our local hospitality businesses, rather than waxing lyrical when it is simply too late. For the businesses I met over the summer, actions speak louder than words, and that is the difference between this Labour Government and the Opposition.

16:16

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

The hospitality industry is often the unsung hero of our local communities. We often do not appreciate it enough and we take it for granted. It is everywhere: it is in every village and every town, and in every corner of our constituencies. This opportunity to debate the importance of the hospitality industry is extremely timely given the challenges it is facing.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) said, the hospitality industry offers many people the first opportunity to get into a first job. It offers opportunity for those who want flexible working, and it offers opportunity for career progression for those who wish to move into management and maybe aspire to own their own hospitality business one day.

As the proud representative of Bridlington and The Wolds, hospitality is vital to my constituency. I represent two seaside towns—Bridlington and Hornsea—and a huge rural inland area, all of which is reliant on the hospitality industry that is part of the tourism we so enjoy. Five million visitors come to Bridlington alone every year, all of whom enjoy hospitality of some sort in the pubs and the cafés, with the fish and chips and the ice creams. All of these businesses are under serious pressure. We have heard about the 84,000 job losses across the sector nationally, and the pressures felt by individual businesses from the rise in national insurance contributions, the Employment Rights Bill and other measures taken by the Chancellor in her first Budget.

One particular area on which I want to concentrate—it was raised by the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael)—is the serious issue of VAT, particularly on the pub and restaurant sector. I was told by a local landlord of a very successful pub in my constituency that he has 500 covers a week, and still struggles to make a profit, because although he is buying food without VAT, he has to charge it to the customer. That puts a serious squeeze on his ability to achieve a profit, even though he is running a successful business. Of the 500 people who come in for a meal every week, the Government is taking the first 100 covers.

VAT is quite a hit on such businesses, and I think the Minister should make more significant representations to the Chancellor on that specific point. I know he says he is approached by every sector about VAT, but it seems to be a particularly acute problem for pubs and restaurants.

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

My hon. Friend referred to the Minister’s representations to the Chancellor, but I think the Minister said he was not going to make any representations to the Chancellor.

[Charlie Dewhirst]

It is not for me to say whether the Minister will or will not, but he should do so, and he should be shouting much more loudly on behalf of the hospitality sector.

[Chris Bryant]

I am always happy to make representations to the Chancellor on lots of different things, but I have no intention of sharing them with the House.

[Charlie Dewhirst]

There we go. Let us hope the Chancellor listens this time.

Another point, which was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), was on the tourism tax in Wales. This has caused significant concern in my coastal communities of Bridlington, Hornsea and the other coastal villages. As the Minister said, the tourism industry is already heavily taxed and people are already feeling the pressure. We certainly do not want to see any sort of tourism tax expanded from Wales into the wider United Kingdom.

It really is not possible for these businesses to continue in the current climate. As we have heard, over a third are unable to make a profit in the hospitality industry and yet our local pubs are the lifeblood of our communities. They are so important. We saw that during covid, when we were not able to go to the pub and the impact that had on communities for people to be able to mix, particularly those who live alone whose social contact is perhaps limited to visiting friends for a pint after work in the evening.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is rightly articulating that hospitality businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. Epping Forest has fantastic local pubs, such as the Theydon Oak, the Forest Gate Inn and the Bull, and fantastic restaurants such as Mila and the India Grill in Loughton. They are all really suffering under the punitive taxation regime from the Labour Government—the jobs tax and the business rates rises. Does he agree that everything they are doing is damaging our local communities?

[Charlie Dewhirst]

Absolutely. As I say, hospitality is the lifeblood of our local community and we should be doing more to look at this as a special case, because it really, really is damaging when we see pubs close. When a village loses a pub, it loses part of its heart and soul. We absolutely need to protect these businesses. They want to make money, but they are not out there trying to fleece their customers. They want to make a living; they do not want to make millions out of what they are doing. Our landlords and landladies are a fantastic part of our communities, so we should be doing more to support them.

The Chancellor, when we eventually get to our Christmas Budget, has a chance to say to our hospitality businesses across the country that we do value them, that we do accept there are pressures that have been created by the rise in national insurance contributions, that there are pressures through the Employment Rights Bill, that there are pressures they already have through the existing VAT rate and that we want to help.

Now, I know the Chancellor says, “Where are you going to cut money, if you take money away from those particular taxes?” I say, let us be inventive. Let us have a look at what we value. This is not about service delivery; this is about whether, if we reduce taxes, we might, as we have heard, get more take from the overall tax bill. If more people are going into pubs, restaurants and cafes and spending more money because it is more affordable to do so, the Treasury might actually end up with more money. I ask the Minister to use this opportunity. Please do make representations. He does not have to make them public, but please shout loudly for our hospitality industry.

16:22

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

Bournemouth relies heavily on hospitality and tourism. In my constituency alone, hospitality generates £162.8 million in revenue and employs 3,700 people across more than 30 venues. The sector creates vibrant communities, accessible jobs and attracts investment. Take Kris Gumbrell, the CEO of Brewhouse and Kitchen. He chairs an industry apprenticeship programme and has invested over £3 million to revive a derelict pub in Southbourne, creating a community hub and over 40 new jobs. Take Emma Sclanders of Wild & Ginger or Ricky Knowlton of Syds Slaps, who the new the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend for Bristol North West (Darren Jones), was so happy to visit just a few short months ago. Take James Fowler of the Larder House, Jon Roberts of Little Perth or Rich Slater of Sobo Beach. The list really does go on.

In Bournemouth East, we are blessed with fantastic hospitality owners. That is because, as entrepreneurs, they are investing time, money and personal risk to create jobs and community hubs. They shoulder costs and were often overlooked in policy discussions over the past 14 years. They want, as do we on the Labour Benches, balanced and targeted support for businesses to ensure that their efforts are being supported.

Hospitality matters so much because it is woven into everyday life. Whether it is coffee with friends, football at the stadium, a drink down the pub, date nights or quick bites before events, the hospitality sector provides so many of the events that we find so meaningful in our personal lives. They are a critical community space and social infrastructure that bring us together, and create belonging to each other and to the places we live in. And by God, over the last 14 years have we not seen our social infrastructure attacked and decimated?

We need to support our hospitality sector, and that is especially important for Government Members who represent coastal communities. Labour now represents more coastal communities than at any time since 1997, after nearly half the coastal seats in England and Wales were won from the Conservatives in 2024—that is no wonder when I hear my constituents talk about how Bournemouth has been left behind and how coastal communities have been forgotten. Labour is committed to putting that right, which means supporting our hospitality and tourism sectors.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his passionate argument for the hospitality sector in our coastal communities. Plymouth has some of the best pubs in England, and I am convinced that beer tastes better in pubs in Plymouth than in any other place in the UK. I have a question for my hon. Friend: does he not think it is important to acknowledge that the previous Conservative Government’s catastrophic mismanagement of the hospitality sector during covid is still wreaking havoc?

[Tom Hayes]

I am astonished that nobody raised a point of order there. Of course Plymouth does not have the best beer in the country; Bournemouth East does. If not Bournemouth East, I am sure that many other constituencies would claim to, too. However, I agree with my hon. Friend that the hospitality sector has endured difficulty time and again, whether during the pandemic, the cost of living crisis or the previous Government’s reckless disregard for the sector’s needs, and so Labour needs to fix the foundations of the hospitality sector. We need to support our economy by stabilising it and, in so doing, supporting our hospitality businesses.

Coastal communities like Plymouth and Bournemouth have faced significant challenges, whether it be worse health outcomes, lower life expectancy, poorer education, lower pay or higher deprivation. We need to support our coastal communities, particularly given that they are so heavily reliant on tourism and industries that have struggled over recent years, such as hospitality. According to the Office for National Statistics, coastal communities have a higher proportion of hospitality businesses than inland areas. The hospitality sector in our coastal communities can therefore be a powerful economic driver at a time when we are desperate to raise productivity from its sluggish levels and grow our economy.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to reflect the importance of coastal communities in driving the Government’s growth agenda. My constituency has the coastal community of Bracklesham, a small village where the Beach Café, Rewild Sauna and GOAT Coffee are doing incredible things in all coming together to bring so much more tourism to what is a beautiful part of my constituency. Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that there is a quid pro quo with businesses that are trying to drive growth, but are being hamstrung by the Government’s increased taxes and business rates?

[Tom Hayes]

The hon. Lady raises an interesting point on behalf of her constituents and businesses. I would, of course, say that were it not for the tax rise that allowed for investment in our NHS, we would not be seeing so many hospital appointments and such dramatic falls in NHS waiting lists, and we would not then be seeing people who were once ill returning to the workforce, so that they can earn, work and contribute to our economy, and then help our hospitality sector.

[Mr Angus MacDonald]

Would the hon. Gentleman admit that what actually happened in the Budget was a transfer of 2% of GDP from the private sector to the public sector? That private sector is, to a significant extent, the hospitality sector.

[Tom Hayes]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, although I do not recognise what he is saying. I hope he is welcoming the NHS investment that his constituency is receiving, as well as the free breakfast clubs, place-based nurseries, stimulation of his local economy, improved pothole filling and improved connectivity. If he wishes to stand up and say that, I would be happy to give way to him again.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

rose—

[Tom Hayes]

The hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald) does not wish to, so I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank).

[Euan Stainbank]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the constituents of the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald) will have the opportunity to welcome those measures if Scotland votes next year for a Scottish Labour Government?

[Tom Hayes]

I think my hon. Friend has said enough—and I welcome what he has said.

I also want to recognise the difficult financial inheritance of this Government: how they needed to raise money to fix the foundations, to invest in our public services, and to deliver the change that people were calling out for during the general election and long before. All of us on the Government Benches, and I hope on the Opposition Benches too, are hearing from our constituents about the green shoots of recovery in our NHS, about schools finally starting to get the investment that they need, about those place-based nurseries and about childcare being rolled out on a larger scale.

What I want to see from our Government is a continuation of their hard work. I welcome the fact that the empty shops rental auction is under way in Bournemouth. I welcome, too, that the Government are moving ahead with supporting the hospitality sector. I would particularly like to see the valuation office properly pay regard to the issues that need fixing and that have been stated to me in places like Boscombe. At the last valuation, which was done under the Conservatives, neighbourhoods like Boscombe saw their rates stay flat or even increase, harming independent retailers. As a Labour Member who wants to support hospitality, I would like to see that corrected. I would like to see proposals including the raising of the rateable value threshold for 100% relief from £15,000 to £25,000 with tapered relief, the introduction of high street survival discounts, and the simplification of the appeals process with open data and fast-track support for SMEs. Those are just some of the ideas that I am hearing from constituents. I am sure that other colleagues will have many more that they wish to share, so I shall rest there.

16:30

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

As we have heard, hospitality is a crucial part of our economy. Our pubs, restaurants, hotels and other businesses employ 3.5 million people—over 5,000 in my North West Norfolk constituency alone, contributing £136 million to my local economy—but this Government’s decisions have hammered the sector. As the owner of the Crown and Mitre pub in King’s Lynn, which I highly recommend, recently put it in the local Lynn News:

“How many rising costs can you face before collapsing face-first into the till?”

Will’s grim humour says it all. He says that costs are piling up faster than a

“bad souffle in an over-heated oven”.

But the reality is no laughing matter. When we were in Government, the Conservatives supported the sector. We boosted growth and helped it to recover from the difficult decisions that we had to make during covid. That record stands in sharp contrast to what we are seeing today. All Members will know from talking to hospitality businesses in their constituencies this summer just how worried they are about the increased costs.

When I was at the Rose and Crown in Harpley during the summer, talking to the team that reopened that pub and had pubs across Norfolk, I heard just how damaging the increase in the national insurance rate has been. The lowering of the threshold to £5,000 has also been a real challenge. That change alone has brought 750,000 workers in the sector into national insurance for the first time—and what has happened? Well, as UKHospitality’s TaxedOut campaign shows, Labour’s decisions have already cost nearly 90,000 jobs in the sector, particularly hitting younger people, part-time workers and those starting out in entry-level positions, which they can then grow into the career that the Minister said that he hoped more people would have an opportunity to do.

The jobs tax is costing the sector as a whole £3.4 billion a year. Little wonder that a third are now operating at a loss. Three quarters have had to put up their prices to cope with the increased costs that they are facing, and two thirds are reducing the hours of their existing staff, and are not taking on the people that they otherwise would have done. Little wonder, too, that UKHospitality has called the Government’s decisions a “hammer blow” for the sector.

But it is not just the jobs tax; the Government’s choice to almost halve hospitality and leisure business rates relief from 75% to 40% will hit a quarter of a million businesses. I was very surprised, as I am sure the sector would be, to hear the Minister boasting about this damaging decision, given that the average pub is paying £5,500 more and restaurants are paying £9,000 extra. How does he expect them to absorb those costs without the consequences for employment that we are seeing? Depressingly, there is even more to come. The Deputy Prime Minister’s Employment Rights Bill—or whoever picks it up after her—will add £5 billion a year to employer costs, making it less likely that firms will take on people.

Our hospitality firms are resilient, and they need to be with all they are having to weather. This Government are putting them under the cosh. With creativity, investment and the high-quality staff across the sector, hospitality firms can attract customers and support our local communities. I have seen many impressive hospitality businesses in my constituency, including ones that have newly reopened—the Ship in Brancaster, the Chequers in Thornham, the Pub in Clenchwarton, and new enterprises such as Nopa and VinedMe, which are also in Thornham—but the Government are making it far too hard for firms like those to thrive and grow. Members have the opportunity today to back our very sensible motion to back the sector, to think again about the doubling of business rates, and to amend the damaging Employment Rights Bill to protect seasonal and flexible work.

With borrowing costs at a 27-year high, hospitality businesses cannot afford for a Government to be making such damaging economic choices. Ahead of the Budget, the Chancellor and her team of tax raisers should listen to employers and take action to live within our means, otherwise more pubs, more venues and more jobs will be lost.

16:35

[Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)]

I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about our hospitality sector and how we value and reward the people working in it, the rising confidence that business is reporting and the evolving nature of our high streets.

High streets and hospitality are changing, but sadly what has not changed is a Conservative party in opposition that wants to talk the country down. The reality, as reported by 1,200 businesses in the Lloyds business survey, is very different from the picture that the Conservatives want to paint. The survey, which is in its 15th year, last week reported that the overall business confidence index, which combines firms’ trading expectations and economic optimism, rose for a fourth consecutive month in August, reaching its highest level since late 2015. Let me set that out plainly: business confidence under this Labour Chancellor is higher than it was at any point under any of the last six Conservative Chancellors who occupied No. 11 Downing Street.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. Does he agree that confidence of consumers is also rising, with a number of cuts to interest rates, a rise in the minimum wage and many other benefits for working families?

[Andrew Lewin]

I do agree. I have spoken to constituents on two-year fixed-rate mortgages who were being hammered two years ago by Liz Truss and are now paying hundreds of pounds less per month because we are getting a grip on the economy.

Sixty-two per cent of firms plan to increase headcount over the next 12 months, and confidence in retailers surveyed rose by 13 points to 57%, also marking a five-month high. This is all welcome news, but I am far from complacent. Of course there are real challenges for some hospitality firms. I turn now to how the Government are seeking to address them and why it matters to my constituents.

A fitting place to start is the people who work in the sector. The average age is 35. Our shops, restaurants, pubs, cafés and cinemas are powered by younger people. When I bought my last suit at the Galleria in Hatfield, I received much-needed sartorial advice from an employee younger than me. [Interruption.] I will go back again for my next suit! When I pop into a Simmons branch for a coffee, it is invariably a younger person who serves me—as it is when I head in for a pint in one of the fantastic pubs in our two towns or the villages.

People working in hospitality are just as deserving of rights and protections in the workplace as anyone else. That is why it is so important that the Employment Rights Bill brings forward day one protections at work. It introduces protection from unfair dismissal, bans exploitative zero-hours contracts and strengthens statutory sick pay.

Earlier this year, the Labour Government increased the national living wage by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour—an increase comfortably above inflation that was welcomed by millions of workers, though seemingly not by the Conservative party. The Conservatives’ motion seems to cast doubt on the role of the Low Pay Commission, and sadly they have refused to welcome the pay rise we gave to the country last year. If any of them wants to say thank us for the minimum wage rise, I will happily give way.

On business rates, the Conservatives left the Treasury with no funded commitment to continue with the retail, hospitality and leisure relief, as the Minister set out powerfully in his opening remarks. It is right that this Government stepped in to make the 40% reduction in rates permanent, giving confidence and security to business owners. I hope we can go even further in future.

I know how much civic pride people have in their town centres. Although we will not return to the high streets of the 1990s, there is real demand in towns for variety: shops, places to eat, entertainment and events. A mixture of permanence, such as our iconic John Lewis store in Welwyn Garden City, and the events that the business improvement district puts on in our town every year, such as the world food festival, which draws thousands of local people and tourists from across the world.

This is a Government who have listened to business, strengthened the rights of workers and given millions of lower earners a pay rise. Sentiment is improving and confidence is rising. Let us not talk down our hospitality sector; let us champion it and seize the opportunities that are in front of us.

16:40

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

As the Member for Melksham and Devizes, I represent many rural villages and communities, a number of which I visited over recess. I have long been struck by the importance of the village pub as a hub of community—a place for good conversation and friendly banter, and for connecting with friends and neighbours, which is in fact vital for good mental health. Indeed, while on my summer tour of the constituency, I hosted a drop-in session in the lovely village of Urchfont, outside the Lamb, a friendly community public house.

In communities such as the one I represent, transport links and broadband connectivity can, on occasion, leave much to be desired, creating in their wake a sense of isolation and loneliness, especially for those working at home, raising children or trying to enjoy their well-earned retirement. In such instances, a feeling of community, of knowing one’s neighbours and of having someone to talk to becomes so important. In rural villages, it is often the pub that makes that possible. We have all heard the headline statistics—the closure of 1,100 pubs and restaurants since the tax on jobs was introduced in last autumn’s Budget, leaving 84,000 people out of work, with two pubs shutting every day—yet those statistics do not show the whole impact, with landlords and bar staff often putting in superhuman efforts to try to keep their businesses afloat.

I recently met my constituent Hannah, who runs the Swan at Enford. She came to talk to me about the increasing pressures that her business has faced since the Budget. In addition to diversifying her business, including by running a butcher’s shop, the Swan plays a vital and diverse role in the community, running a monthly “hub in the pub” event and helping with the yearly village fête and fireworks night. However, the costs on the business have risen exponentially since the Budget. The cut to hospitality relief has more than doubled the business rates she must now pay, from £167 to £444 a month. That, combined with the increase in employer national insurance contributions, means that landlords like Hannah are under greater financial pressure than ever.

Given that taxes make up 40% of turnover and that £1 in every £3 goes to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, with just 12p made on each pint sold according to the British Beer and Pub Association, surely it is time for the Government to review the burden that they are placing on these vital hospitality businesses. If the pressures continue, we will likely see more and more villages being stripped of their pubs and community spaces; greater numbers of people will prefer to drink at home. If the Government do not act, we risk losing the time-honoured tradition of the farmer drinking shoulder to shoulder with the accountant, the builder with the postie and the vicar with the carer—in short, the bedrock of village life.

In addition to lowering the tax burden on those businesses, the Government should also look at the support they can offer to community pub schemes, through which villagers can come together to buy and run their local pub.We have already had one such success in my constituency. The Hop Pole in Limpley Stoke offers a shining example of such schemes, and I hope to see this success replicated by the Friends of the Ivy in Heddington, who I am proud to support in their effort to get their local reopened.

[Matt Rodda]

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent point about the importance of pubs as the heart of our local community life, and that is the case for towns as well as for villages. Does he agree that the measures announced by the Deputy Prime Minister yesterday to support community assets will help exactly the type of pub he is describing, and would he perhaps like to offer a word of support and congratulate her on her work on this?

[Brian Mathew]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, but more is needed. The Minister’s Department must support these schemes and the pub trade or risk losing a vital component of rural life.

Lastly, let me make the point that profitable businesses pay taxes, but closed pubs pay no taxes.

16:45

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

It is interesting that the Conservatives’ motion acknowledges the important role that hospitality businesses play in offering a first step on the employment ladder to

“young and often excluded groups”.

If they care so much about young and often excluded people, I would have thought they would have backed Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, because right now in Ealing Southall, young workers and the many workers of Indian heritage in my constituency can be sacked for no reason whatsoever in their first two years in a job. These are often hard-working, qualified people but they are completely at the mercy of bad employers because the right not to be unfairly dismissed applies only after two years in a job.

There are some great hospitality businesses in Ealing Southall, including the Plough in Northfields, a Fuller’s pub I visited recently, which does a lot to train and support its staff. However, over half of employees under 30 have been with their current employer for less than two years, and 42% of black, Asian and minority ethnic employees have been with their current employer for less than two years, compared with 28% of white workers. The very young, black and Asian workers that the Conservatives claim to care about are therefore exactly the people who will be helped most by Labour’s Employment Rights Bill. In fact, it is an all-too-common trick for bad employers to sack workers just before the two years are up. The Conservatives need to explain why they think it is okay that a young worker can be sacked for no reason after 23 and a half months in the job, just so they do not get their rights.

The Conservatives’ motion also objects to Labour’s plan to end exploitative zero-hours contracts. Who do they think is most likely to be on those kinds of contracts? Oh yes! It is exactly the same young and often excluded workers, but they obviously do not care about them at all. Exploitative zero-hours contracts do not just mean that workers do not know from week to week if they will be able to afford the rent; they also put power into the hands of managers who can use the threat of people losing their hours to threaten and bully—you’ve guessed it—young, black and Asian workers, who are often the most vulnerable at work.

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Small businesses in my constituency often tell me that they want to be really good employers. That is something that they take great pride in, but they get undercut by some of the bad employers. Does she agree that the Bill is good not only for the worker but for the business?

[Deirdre Costigan]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Labour’s Employment Rights Bill is all about levelling the playing field so that the efforts made by the great employers that we have in this country, including hospitality employers, to look after their workers can be broadened out to the whole of the industry.

The Conservatives also need to stop pretending that this change that Labour is bringing in would stop seasonal working in the hospitality sector. Stop making things up! A worker can stay on a zero-hours contract if that is what they want. Many people will choose to do that if it fits with their lives, but where there is clearly a regular job and someone has been working those hours for at least three months, they will have the right to a guarantee of those minimum hours. What is wrong with that? The Tories need to explain why they think it is okay for young and often excluded workers to remain at the beck and call of bad managers, with no control over their hours and no financial security.

Our hospitality businesses are indeed often the first step on the employment ladder, and McDonald’s in Southall is another great example of that. The Conservatives are busy trying to knock people off that ladder. With Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, we are helping workers climb up the ladder into decent, well-paid jobs that their families can thrive on.

16:50

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)]

I will speak about some of the hospitality businesses in my constituency, but I say to the hon. Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) that that was an interesting speech; I do not think much of it was based in reality, however, and I am more than happy to explain. The Employment Rights Bill will cost £5 billion by the Government’s own assessment. The businesses that will bear the costs of that will then have to make cost-cutting measures, and it is usually young people—I trust her that it might be ethnic minorities who are at the vanguard—who are at risk. They are the ones who will suffer and lose their jobs, because those businesses still have to make a profit.

I broaden my point out to the Government Benches. I listened to the opening speech by the Minister. It was sometimes an entertaining speech, especially when he took my intervention, but sitting here, I thought, “There is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to make a profit and how important that is to businesses.” That is literally the reason people go into business: to make a profit and generate cash. The rise in national insurance contributions—the jobs tax—and the Employment Rights Bill, which will cost £5 billion, are costs imposed by the Labour Government. They made a choice to impose that on businesses. Hospitality businesses suffering at the hands of the Labour Government are having to make tough choices, and that means seasonal workers will not be employed, or not as many of them will be. We are already seeing that.

When I quoted the chair of UKHospitality to the Minister, he denied that and said it was not happening, but the stats say something different. Over half of the jobs lost since the Budget have been lost as a result of Labour’s Budget. I have been speaking to businesses since then, including Visit Knowle, Eric Lyons and the Barn at Berryfields—these are beautiful businesses that we have. We have the National Exhibition Centre, which is a great importer of tourism and which the Minister spoke about, backed by Birmingham airport. We have the Greenwood pub, Nailcote Hall, Three Trees community centre—I could go on and on. There are huge numbers of hospitality businesses, but they are all suffering the cost of the jobs tax, which disproportionally affects them. It means that those businesses are not investing because they are having to save that money to pay the Chancellor.

[Sam Rushworth]

The hon. Member mentioned costs on businesses. One of those costs is the cost of sick days, which has increased by £30 billion since 2018. I visited a business recently in my constituency, and I am not going to lie: they said, “Yes, it’s a bit of a squeeze having to pay an increase in national insurance,” but then they said, “But we’re saving money on sick days because people are getting the appointments they need in the NHS.” He will know that there have been 7 million more GP appointments. Does he welcome that investment in the NHS and the fact that there were nearly 14 million fewer sick days in the last year?

[Saqib Bhatti]

I have a rude awakening for the hon. Member, and it is a broader point about the debate. Having listened to Government Members, and I suggest that they turn on the news and start looking at what is happening to the bond market, because we are seeing record interest rates when the Government have to borrow. Last year, all these Government Members backed the Chancellor’s fictitious black hole; now she has a real black hole that she created, which she will have to deal with. I do not know what they think will happen at the Budget, but it will either be the cuts that they opposed in the welfare Bill and other cuts that they find unpalatable, or it will be further taxes raised on working people, who they purport to defend and support. When those taxes are imposed on businesses, it will hurt either consumer sentiment or the business themselves. They will then have to make further job cuts to survive. That is the reality; everything has a consequence.

What Labour Members fail to understand is that it is absolutely essential—particularly because they talk about supporting such businesses—that they lobby the Chancellor to get a grip on the situation, instead of allowing it to balloon completely out of control as a result of the measures they backed last October. The consequences of that have been tens of thousands of job losses and thousands of businesses going under. I am deeply worried for my constituents.

As much as I found the Minister’s speech interesting and sometimes entertaining, I thought that it was quite disrespectful to the hospitality sector, which is very worried. The chair of the biggest representative body of the hospitality sector is saying that there is a problem, but she is being ignored or told that there is no problem. Hospitality businesses in the constituencies of Labour MPs will be knocking on their doors and asking for answers. I ask for a degree of humility because the reckoning is coming—respected economists and think-tanks are saying it—as a consequence of the Chancellor’s decisions. I restate my request for a bit of humility and understanding of what the hospitality sector is going through.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. After the next speaker, I will reduce the time limit to four minutes. Members might like to think about the length of interventions, or indeed whether interventions are needed at all, given that plenty of colleagues still wish to speak.

16:55

[Michael Payne (Gedling) (Lab)]

The hospitality businesses across Gedling are more than just places to eat and drink; they are the backbone of our community and the beating heart of our high streets. From Carlton to Arnold, Mapperley to Netherfield and Burton Joyce to Bestwood Village, those businesses make Gedling a great place to live, work and socialise. To every café owner, chef, pub landlord and staff member, and to all our small businesses, I say thank you. Their hard work keeps our towns and villages alive and our local economy moving.

Just last week, I was proud to welcome the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones), to Gedling to meet some of our fantastic small businesses—many of them in hospitality. At Mapperley Top, we held a roundtable in La Zenia, a tapas restaurant that opened a year ago—I send huge congratulations to Lucy and her brilliant team on their first year of business. My right hon. Friend also heard directly from Copper, Steve’s Bar, Deli-icious and Coosh bakery. In Arnold, we met the passionate teams at Cleo’s deli, Taste First, the Empress, Chambers butchers and Paradise café. I thank my right hon. Friend for visiting and listening to Gedling’s fantastic small businesses, and congratulate him on his new role as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.

May I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Woodlark Inn in Lambley, and its landlady, Emma, on recently being named one of the best 500 pubs in England by The Telegraph? Over the summer, I had the brilliant opportunity to enjoy a pint at the Abdication in Daybrook, the Four Bells Inn in Woodborough, the Waggon and Horses in Redhill—my local—and the Bread and Bitter at Mapperley Top, among the many other brilliant pubs in Gedling.

I will always fight the corner of Gedling’s many amazing small businesses. That is why, last year, I launched my own annual small business awards to celebrate small businesses throughout Gedling. With so many amazing businesses across Carlton, Netherfield, Burton Joyce and beyond in the wider Gedling area, our door is always open to Government Ministers who wish to come and listen and support our local small business community.

[Chris McDonald (Stockton North) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is doing an amazing job of talking about the importance of small hospitality businesses to the local community. Does he agree that that extends beyond economic value to their value more generally? The Golden Smog, a friendly family pub in my constituency, supports an inclusive basketball team and has raised £700,000 from its annual “pALEgrimage”—it is like a pilgrimage but involves ale, so it is even better. Will he join me in congratulating that pub?

[Michael Payne]

I congratulate the Golden Smog on its initiative. I look forward to having a pint there with my hon. Friend next time I am in his constituency.

Gedling has nearly 3,000 businesses, 98% of which are small or micro. Retail and hospitality alone support over a quarter of the jobs in my constituency. Those are not just numbers; they represent livelihoods, families and futures. That is why I welcome the Labour Government stepping in where the last Conservative Government left a cliff edge. Instead of pulling the rug out from under small businesses, we are providing a lifeline: a 40% business rate relief, targeted where it is needed most. Labour does not turn its back on small businesses; we back them. More than 10,000 pubs and bars shut under the Conservatives. By contrast, this Labour Government are acting: permanent business rate cuts from 2026; high-street rental auctions; and a ban on unfair rent clauses—real measures to make our high streets revive and thrive.

The Conservative motion mentions “catastrophic choices”, but Conservative Members should take a long, hard look in the mirror. On their watch, inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, and food inflation hit 19% by March 2023. [Interruption.] I can hear chuntering on the Opposition Benches, but those inflation levels did not just hit household budgets; they scarred small businesses in Gedling and across the country.

[Mr Angus MacDonald]

When the hon. Gentleman prepares his agenda for the next small company roundtable, will he ask companies how they are getting on with the 8.7% national insurance increase, and the total employment cost increase of 12.4% as a result of the Budget? That is four times inflation. I think he will be surprised how uncomfortable the answer is.

[Michael Payne]

With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, the businesses did a grand job of telling the Minister their views directly. I do not think that they need any lectures from him on how to run their businesses.

While café, pubs and shops fought to stay open, the Conservatives were too busy fighting among themselves to help small businesses. This Labour Government are turning the page. Through our plan for small and medium-sized businesses, Gedling employers are getting the support that they need to recover, grow and thrive, and we are already seeing the results. The Opposition talk about job losses, but the facts is that employment has risen by more than 625,000, and economic inactivity has fallen by 338,000. That is not rhetoric; it is progress under this Labour Government.

The previous Conservative Government wrecked the economy, left inflation spiralling and turned their back on the high street. In Gedling, the damage is clear for my constituents to see: vacant units on the high street; council cuts that have left our town centres less clean; and, yes, crumbling pavements and roads in and around our high streets. In just over a year, under this Prime Minister and the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas), Labour is turning things around. It is backing small businesses, especially in hospitality; getting people back into work; delivering a new deal for working people; and, yes—although the Conservatives do not like the facts—growing the economy faster than any other G7 nation. That is what we get with a Labour Government, and by gosh, after 14 years of Conservative neglect, it cannot come fast enough for my constituents, and for businesses in Gedling.

17:02

[Aphra Brandreth (Chester South and Eddisbury) (Con)]

The hospitality sector is all too often overlooked, yet it is one of the most vital pillars not just of our economy, but of our communities. My constituency has 215 registered businesses in accommodation and food services, contributing at least 4,000 jobs—nearly one in 10 local jobs. The sector really matters to Cheshire’s economy. Each year, it contributes £370 million in Cheshire East, and £390 million in Cheshire West and Chester. Hospitality, however, is being punished with higher taxes and even more regulation.

Since being elected, I have been meeting and listening to our local business owners, and I hear the same message time and again: times are tough, and they need policies that deliver stability, champion growth and secure the future of the sector—none of which this Government have delivered. Instead, policy after policy has punished small business owners, especially in hospitality. Do not just take my word for it. Earlier this year, I sat down with Woody Barlow who runs the Swan in Tarporley and the Lion at Malpas, two of our fantastic local village pubs. Woody told me that the 2024 Budget hit his business hard through increased employer national insurance contributions and reduced business rates relief. What struck me most was his concern for his staff and community. He was not just worried about profits, but about young people. Their first job in a local pub can be vital; they learn soft skills, gain confidence and work in a team.

I also met William Lees-Jones, managing director of JW Lees brewery, a seventh-generation family business, approaching its 200th anniversary. It supplies and runs well over 100 pubs across the north-west, not to mention its inns and hotels. William raised serious concerns about proposed changes to business property relief. The brewery has consistently reinvested its profits to grow and innovate, creating jobs, supporting communities and contributing to our economy. Before the Budget, it forecast the creation of 178 new jobs in 2025, but after the spring statement, William told me that he is not sure those jobs will be possible.

Jake, at the Fire Station in Malpas, spoke to me about the impact of VAT, along with increasing wage costs, and how that threatens his ability to run a much-loved café at the heart of the local community. Add to that the surging cost of utilities and the anti-growth, anti-business measures in the Employment Rights Bill, and it is clear that the sector is under immense pressure.

I want to emphasise just how important hospitality is in rural communities like mine. Yes, a pub is a place to grab a pint, and a café is a great place to get a coffee, but they are so much more. Just last Thursday, I attended the first “chatty café” at Tilly’s in Bunbury, a scheme that provides vital social contact, particularly for older people. I met Charles, who is 86 years old and travels from Crewe every week to have his breakfast and a chat at Tilly’s. For many in our rural areas, cafés and pubs are lifelines. They host community groups, offer local services and provide a space where people feel connected.

With their unfair taxation, economic mismanagement and poorly thought-out legislation, this Government are putting pubs, cafés and restaurants, and the jobs that they create and support, at risk. I will continue to speak up for the hospitality businesses in Chester South and Eddisbury, and I thank them for everything that they do for our local economy and our communities.

11:30

[Katie White (Leeds North West) (Lab)]

Anyone who knows my constituency of Leeds North West will know how much our pubs, cafés and restaurants mean to people. Do not get me started on the coffee from Woodlawn, the cakes from the Bramble Bakehouse, the croissants from the Underground Bakery and the curry from Daastan. We have nearly 300 places to eat, 72 pubs and three fantastic breweries. They are where people meet, celebrate birthdays and meet their friends, and they help to keep our high streets alive. I am in them most weekends, and with typical Yorkshire honesty, the owners never sugar-coat it—they tell me straight about the pressures that they face.

I listened to what the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti) said about humility, but let us be clear that the pressures that we are talking about did not come out of nowhere, and they did not start in July last year. Under the Conservatives, more than 6,000 pubs and bars closed. The legacy of a decade of neglect is shuttered shopfronts, struggling high streets and local people losing the places that hold communities together. I know that things are tough and how hard businesses are working, and I applaud and appreciate all that they are doing. I commit to being a champion for them.

I am proud to be part of a Labour Government who are beginning to address the challenges by cutting red tape and providing for new hospitality and night-time economy zones to simplify licensing, boost footfall and support al fresco dining. I am proud to be part of a Labour party that is revitalising our high streets. The new high street rental auctions are absolutely brilliant. In Otley, I am working with local businesses on the “Take Back Fultons” campaign. For many years, there has been a huge empty building on the high street, which has been an eyesore. We are looking to bring it back into use, through initiatives introduced by this Labour Government. Ministers from across Government are meeting me next week to talk about the campaign, because these are cross-Government initiatives.

We are on the side of hospitality. Earlier this year, businesses were staring at a cliff edge, with temporary business rates reliefs due to expire. This Government stepped in with a 40% discount for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, up to a cash cap of £110,000, and a freeze in the small business multiplier. Together, that support package was worth over £1.6 billion in 2025-26, saving the average pub more than £3,300 in 2025. I know that Ministers are looking closely at business rates over the next few months to ensure long-term certainty, and small businesses across my constituency would certainly welcome that.

This Government have done what every pub-goer can cheer: they have cut duty on draught beer and taken a penny off a pint. Through the hospitality support scheme, I am proud that this Government are backing Pub is The Hub, giving community pubs the support that they need to keep delivering for their communities. It is breathing life back into the high streets, backing community pubs and supporting the cafés and restaurants that make places like Otley, Yeadon, Adel and Horsforth such brilliant places to live.

We in Leeds North West can already see what success looks like. Bavette in Horsforth took over a vacant high street unit, and within a year it was awarded a Bib Gourmand. In Otley, a wave of female-led businesses is driving a revival, from Belle beauty salon and Mollie & Mauve florists to the Secret Garden café and the Bookshop on the Square. Vacancy rates in our town are now well below the national average, and footfall is hitting record highs. That is the strength and spirit of our local entrepreneurs, and with Labour backing hospitality, I know that we will hear many more stories like those. With Yorkshire honesty, I will say it plainly: if we want strong communities, we have to back hospitality. Under Labour, that is what we are doing, and will continue to do.

17:09

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

The pubs, restaurants, cafés and hotels in our hospitality sector are not just places to eat and drink; they are the heart of our communities. They provide jobs, keep our high streets alive and make our communities better and stronger, but many of them tell me that they feel abandoned as a result of the Government policies that we are discussing.

Across the country, an average of 30 pubs close their doors every week. In Taunton and Wellington, Shane Fisher, who runs the lovely Allerford Inn at Norton Fitzwarren, has recently taken on the Racehorse Inn in Taunton town centre. He describes policy effects that are simply unsustainable. The business rates that he pays are now greater than his lease—than the cost of the building. Business rates at that level simply cannot be right.

The Castle hotel in Taunton, an iconic landmark that has been a hotel since 1786 and has famously been run by the Chapman family since 1950, faces similar challenges. In 2024-25, it paid £21,000 in business rates; the very next year, it is being asked to pay well over double: £52,000. That is an increase of £30,000. When that is combined with the damaging increase in national insurance last year and other cost increases, upwards of £200,000 has been added to its costs in a single year. The Little Wine Shop in Taunton’s great independent quarter told me that this kind of increase in costs, coupled with VAT, is killing the industry. I hope the Minister agrees that these increases are simply unsustainable for small family businesses. As a result, all these kinds of businesses are in survival mode.

Hospitality businesses need support, not just through fair taxes, but by seeing the benefit of their taxes being invested in public services, such as policing. That is why I am delighted that our Liberal Democrat town council in Taunton is introducing street marshals, who will provide reassurance, safety and support to people in the town centre. I welcome the Government’s 10 extra police officers in Taunton and west Somerset. We have campaigned to restore proper community policing, which reassures people. Visible patrols are essential for the confidence of traders and customers alike. Too often, Government treat policing purely as a cost, and fail to see its economic benefits. Lifting town centre businesses by providing safe environments that attract customers is hugely valuable. Nowhere is that more true than for hospitality, and I encourage the Government to go further on that.

The Government’s business rates hit hardest the bricks-and-mortar businesses that make up our town centres. On top of that, there is the rise in national insurance, which is nothing more than a tax on jobs. The burden falls most heavily on businesses and sectors like hospitality, which have a large proportion of part-time workers.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

I recently visited the General Tarleton in Ferrensby, which has just reopened. A fantastic group of people have created the Jeopardy Hospitality project, which reopens pubs that have closed down; those involved include the celebrity chef Tommy Banks and Matt Lockwood. Pubs are the heart of the community. Does my hon. Friend agree that people who take these risks and try to put the heart back in our communities deserve help, not a clobbering from this Government?

[Gideon Amos]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend, and look forward to visiting them with him when I am next in his constituency.

Hospitality is not asking for special treatment. Rather, it is asking for fairness, a level playing field and the chance to compete, invest and thrive without being penalised by the tax system. That is why Liberal Democrats have long called for business rates to be scrapped and replaced with a fairer system, one that shifts the burden from the tenants to the landowners, and it is why we opposed the rise in national insurance contributions, which squeezes small firms and workers alike. The Government need to listen to the hoteliers, publicans and restaurateurs in towns such as Taunton and Wellington, because unless things change, more doors will close, more jobs will go, and communities across the country will be poorer for it.

17:15

[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

I spent my summer on a tour across my constituency, holding over 80 surgeries, meeting residents face to face and hearing about the challenges in their communities. In the largest constituency in England, which takes in parts of Newcastle and stretches all the way up to the Scottish border, you certainly get a variety of casework and conversations. It would not have been possible to complete that summer tour without the generous hospitality of many hospitality businesses throughout the constituency. Cafés, pubs, restaurants and hotels all opened their doors to me and my team, allowing us to meet local residents and hear the concerns that matter most to them.

I thank the St Mary’s Inn; the Shoulder of Mutton in Longhorsley; the George Hotel in Chollerton; the Crown Inn in Humshaugh; the Hemmel in Allenheads; the King’s Head in Allendale; the Rochester Relish; the Duke of Wellington in Riding Mill; Oddfellows in Haydon Bridge; the Blenkinsopp Castle Inn in Blenkinsopp; the Engine Inn in Walbottle; the Poacher’s Cottage in Callerton; the Tea on the Train in Bellingham; the Northumberland Arms in West Thirston; Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark; the Rose and Crown in Slaley; the Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland; the Village Store and Coffee Shop in Matfen; the Blacksmith’s Coffee Shop in Belsay; the Running Fox in Kirkharle; and the Bowes Hotel in Bardon Mill, alongside a lot of churches, village halls and community organisations. It is incredible to sit down with a cup of tea with your constituents and speak about the issues that matter to them, be they international issues, national ones, or things such as road markings and speeding concerns. I was also able to visit the Bridge End Inn in Ovingham, which recently reopened after a refurbishment, something that has been much welcomed by locals.

I know the impact that the hospitality industry has on rural communities or communities on the outskirts of Newcastle. As has been said many times, pubs and cafes define those communities, and an empty pub—an empty building in the heart of those communities—can truly blight them and lead to declining confidence. That is why the first letter I wrote after my election was to a Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, urging them to release the money to allow the Samson Inn in Gilsland to reopen. I will now stop naming quite so many local businesses.

One of the issues that businesses raised with me was that poor investment in road infrastructure and in public transport often led to delays in workers getting to and from the business. Another was that a real issue with road surfaces and road resurfacing communication from local government is impacting their ability to open properly—for example, falconry days near Simonburn had seen the road from Chollerton up to Wark closed. Larger businesses had been notified, but they did not feel they had received notice from the county council. That cost them bookings and potential footfall, and it really does cause concern. It is one of the many ways in which I feel that Northumberland county council—which, sadly, is still led by the Conservatives—lets down the west of the county.

Colleagues have already identified the many issues facing the sector. These are things that I hear about from its representatives every day—I go out and meet with them. I said that I would be a constituency MP, and I hope that 80 surgeries in four weeks demonstrates that I will do my best on that front. Ultimately, I want to make sure that I hear concerns directly from local businesses, without the kind of political theatre that we are often all too guilty of in this place. That enables us to make sure we have the proper conversations with Government and reflect those conversations back in the most effective way possible.

If we do not recognise how vital hospitality is—as the first foot on the ladder for young people, as a defining enterprise in a town, or as a local landmark—we risk losing something that is at the heart of not just our economy and our local economies, but of what it means to be English and to be British. Ultimately, there is nothing more emblematic of communities than sitting down, whether that is in Humshaugh, in Wark or in Callerton, having a drink or a coffee and speaking to the people who are at the heart of communities—those who define us and define themselves.

17:19

[Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) (Con)]

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I have received hospitality below the threshold from UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, the Campaign for Real Ale and probably the British Institute of Innkeeping.

Hospitality, as has been said, offers more than just a place for food and drink. With Pub is The Hub, I was fortunate to see pubs in Cornwall that offer everything from the last village shop to jobs, clubs and even the village hairdresser and barbers. I think of the venues that provide drop-in sessions to tackle loneliness and isolation in our communities, and I think of all the pubs, cafés and restaurants up and down the country that fund grassroots sports and raise enormous amounts of money for charities and local good causes. That is why the previous Government worked so hard to try to support them. They scrapped Labour’s beer duty escalator. There was a series of freezes and cuts in alcohol duty, and a new draught beer duty differential, so that a pint in a pub always pays less duty than equivalent beer bought in supermarkets. We had 75% business rate relief for hospitality businesses, taking three quarters off their bills. We must not forget the tens of billions of pounds invested in supporting hospitality during the pandemic and as we recovered from the effects of covid.

Even though that support made the difference between surviving and going under for many, it was still tight. Many still carry a lot of covid debt and they still need our support. Instead, they have suffered a continuous onslaught of taxes and higher costs caused by Labour’s choices since the election. The changes to national insurance contributions, the national minimum wage and business rates have piled an additional £3.4 billion a year on to businesses, and the Government have hit hospitality businesses that rely on many part-time staff particularly hard.

It is no wonder that eight in 10 operators have been forced to raise their prices since April. Business rates more than doubling for a small independent pub or café have meant that thousands of pounds is out of the till before a single pint has been pulled or a single breakfast served. Those are fixed costs that many just cannot meet. Some 69% of businesses are running below required capacity because of staff and cost pressures. One in eight are planning to cut sites and two thirds have cut staff hours. As has been said, the chair of UKHospitality put it plainly last month when she said:

“At a time when the country needs jobs, the Government should be encouraging hospitality to grow and create jobs, not tax them out of existence.”

As we prepare for the pre-Christmas Budget, we need the Government to take this issue seriously and to take hospitality needs seriously. They need to fix national insurance contributions by raising the threshold, particularly for smaller venues. They should introduce exemptions for young people and returners to work. We need them to reconsider their plans to pile further burdens on small businesses next year. We need them to come good on their promise to reform business rates and make sure that when that reform finally happens, those businesses are paying bills that are lower, not higher than what they were paying last year. Finally, the Government should look at how some flexibility can be added to covid loan repayments so that those loans do not threaten otherwise viable businesses.

17:23

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

Hospitality is at the heart of our economy, with the sector contributing as the third-largest employer in the country. Every one of our constituencies has beloved restaurants, cafés, pubs, hotels and high streets that contribute to our local economies, as well as our local communities and cultural landscapes. These venues provide places for families to meet and for friends to get together and to catch up for special milestones and celebrations. If you might indulge me, Madam Deputy Speaker, I take a moment to congratulate my parents, Pat and Kelvin, on their diamond wedding anniversary. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Just two weeks ago, we celebrated with a pub lunch at the Jolly Topers. I thank the team there for making that lunch special; they really do know what customer service is. We had a slightly more boisterous evening with Artan and co. at Lartista, celebrating my niece’s brilliant exam results. [Hon. Members: “Congratulations!”] Thank you very much. She did very well.

We in Luton are definitely a community that knows how to celebrate, and wedding venues are no exception. Venue Central, Crescent Hall and the new Grand Royale Banqueting are all fantastic hospitality venues. As part of these wonderful celebrations, we do of course have fireworks, but may I take a moment to say that we need to be considerate? Too often in Luton, fireworks are let off outwith the time when they are allowed, late at night, in places where they disturb our neighbours. I therefore support the private Member’s Bill tabled by my friend and neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), which is intended to reduce the noise category available when fireworks are bought in public, and to review the current regulations governing their online sale.

Our Labour Government continue to invest in my constituency and across the eastern region, green-lighting the expansion of London Luton airport and approving plans for the new Universal Studios theme park in Bedfordshire. Both provide key opportunities for local hotels and restaurants to thrive, with a significant uptake and footfall expected as the plans get under way—not to mention the hospitality venues associated with the new football stadium at Power Court, once it is built. I welcome the Government’s proposals to establish a visitor economy advisory council, which will drive efforts to fulfil the UK’s ambition of welcoming 50 million international visitors annually by 2030, boosting hospitality and cultural activity across the country.

Small businesses and hospitality do face challenges, but through our plan for change and our commitment we are turning the tide on 14 years of failure under the Conservatives. They dithered and delayed on business rates reform, creating a cliff edge for hospitality businesses, and I am proud that this Labour Government are committed to revitalising our high streets through permanent cuts in business rates. When the temporary business rates relief was due to expire, it was this Labour Government who stepped in to deliver a 40% discount to retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a cash cap of £110,000 per business, as well as freezing the small business multiplier. That support package is worth more than £1.6 billion in 2025-26, and from April next year high street retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000 will enjoy permanently lower business rates.

I could go on. We are tackling the scourge of late payments, we intend to ban upward-only rent review clauses, and we will expand start-up loans for small businesses. All those measures will support hospitality. We will invest in our businesses to ensure that local communities not only feel the economic benefits, but thrive.

17:27

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

The hospitality sector is a major employer in my constituency. In Bromley town centre, in Hayes—which has the excellent New Inn—and in Biggin Hill, Coney Hall, Bickley and Keston, we are lucky to have many fantastic small and independent pubs, cafés and restaurants. However, they are struggling to afford Labour’s tax hikes.

The Government’s decision to increase employer’s national insurance contributions is a jobs tax. Businesses have to pay an average of £900 for every job they support, and the situation is made worse by the decision to slash business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. For an independent pub in my constituency with a rateable value of £98,000, the changes in relief and the increase in the standard multiplier have added £20,000 to its tax bill. All this is happening as energy bills and inflation rise again under Labour, increasing businesses’ costs and squeezing consumer spending. It is no wonder that few hospitality businesses can withstand Labour’s tax raid.

We have already heard about the 84,000 hospitality jobs that have been lost over the past 12 months, but I do not think the Government appreciate the damage that they are inflicting on communities. Much-loved businesses are closing their doors and local job opportunities are shrinking, and it is particularly affecting young people and older workers seeking part-time employment. This threatens to gut high streets, knocking local pride and leaving places poorer, and to add insult to injury, Labour has changed inheritance rules to tax any family business that survives its anti-business policies when the next generation picks up the baton.

It has been said many times that these decisions expose the lack of business experience in the Cabinet. Worryingly, the Government are looking to double down on this “tax everything” approach. They need to change course before we become a nation of shuttered shops and broken dreams.

17:29

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

I declare an interest as a former barman, a former waiter, a former pie seller and someone who has done essentially every front-of-house job—except chef, unfortunately.

I come at today’s debate from the position of a former hospitality worker. It might be slightly over three years since I last pulled a pint, but I have to say that in debates such as this, the insight from hospitality workers is oddly missing. Hospitality is a hard job, and it can be rewarding. I made lifelong friendships through the 14 or 15-hour back-to-back wedding shifts that I pulled to get myself through university, but hospitality is often treated corrosively as a secondary, less-worthwhile occupation. That completely wrong-headed perspective is dripping off the pages of the Opposition’s motion today. It says that we must

“amend the Employment Rights Bill to protect seasonal and flexible employment practices”.

What that says to the 3.5 million hospitality workers in this country—it is the third largest sector in the UK—is that they should be part of a two-tier workforce and have less employment rights than every other worker. Which rights should hospitality workers be excluded from? Should they be able to be sacked in the first two years of employment for no good reason? Should they be disqualified from parity in sick pay? Should they not be entitled to a contract that reflects their hours worked? The motion states that if someone works behind a bar, they should be entitled to fewer rights than those who work behind a desk.

I would like to draw attention of the House to the recent victory of the young unionised workers at the Village hotel in Govan. These hospitality workers won a pay rise, backdated to 1 April 2024, on the terms of equal pay regardless of age. Young workers brought their employer to the table and, in a cost of living crisis, it will now value the value of their labour properly. Thanks to the universality of the Employment Rights Bill and the collective action of the workforce in hospitality, the era of poverty pay and contractual insecurity, which has been rife in the sector, will come to an end. Today’s motion sets a targeted approach: to bring that era back just for the people who keep our hard-working hospitality sector ticking.

Not a pint is poured, nor a meal served or a single beat of music played, without the express permission of hospitality staff—a reminder for all of us in this House that the workers are the hospitality sector. I will be proud to stand up today for my pals I worked beside in hospitality, who do essential, hard, skilled work, which this motion seeks to dimmish by suggesting that those of us who make laws, instead of making beds, should weaken their employment rights today.

17:32

[Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)]

We have heard a lot from those on the Government Benches about how they are improving the experience of businesses across the country. I come in peace; I hope they will take me sincerely when I say that that is absolutely not the feedback I am getting from my hospitality sector, and certainly not from my publicans.

I represent 52 pubs and three breweries in my constituency, and please take me at my word: I am trying to get to all of them. The House may have heard of a cult YouTube channel and Facebook page entitled “The Great British Pub Crawl”, which is run by Dale and Holly and has a combined online followership of over 200,000 subscribers. Their mission is to highlight the state of the hospitality sector across the UK by having a drink at every pub in the country. I wish them every success and a responsible alcohol intake.

[Rachel Hopkins]

“The Great British Pub Crawl” was in Luton last week, and I just want to flag that Dale and Holly said that Luton had a variety of brilliant pubs and that they really enjoyed their time there.

[Cameron Thomas]

I do not doubt that. I am sure Luton is second only to Tewkesbury.

Over the summer recess, a friend of mine reached out, told me who Dale and Holly were and asked me to meet them. I did so when they visited Tewkesbury. I sat down with both of them at the Bell Inn, outside Tewkesbury abbey. They and I have very different occupations, but the great thing about pubs is that people often meet others from different backgrounds. We get to know other people and, without knowing it, our social skills and ability to speak and listen to others develop along the way. I got on really well with Dale and Holly. We discussed how our pubs are far more than just drinking spaces; they are as synonymous with British culture as drinking tea, complaining about the weather and even queuing.

For 800 years, pubs like the Black Bear in Tewkesbury have provided places to work and to tackle loneliness. I love to visit the King Teddy in Longlevens so that I can watch Tottenham Hotspur play—it is very convenient when I need to drown my sorrows afterwards—and I hosted a surgery there over the recess.

Dale and I agree that these vital spaces are under great threat, partly because of actions that this Government have taken. Beer duty costs patrons and puts venues under strain, and the Government must recognise the need to further reduce it. The rise in national insurance contributions disproportionately affects the hospitality sector. I do hope—and I say this in good faith—that the Government will change direction quickly.

17:35

[Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I am proud to be one of the vice-chairs of the all-party parliamentary group for the night time economy. Like all of us, it seems, I have been taking the opportunity to engage with all the hospitality businesses across my constituency and companies that form part of the supply chain. When I say talking to all of them, I mean the independents, the tied pubs, the breweries and the franchisees. What they are not talking to me about is wages. They are also not talking about staffing hours and contracts. Even after pushing from me, they are saying that while the national insurance increase is a concern, it does not even make it into their top 10 problems.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

Is the hon. Lady aware of the comments in the Scottish Parliament yesterday by the chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance? He said that

“the first half of this year was brutal”,

and that the increase in employer’s national insurance contributions has resulted in a “loss of jobs”. Is he wrong?

[Katrina Murray]

I respect the comment, but I had not heard it, because I have been looking at other things today. I am reflecting what businesses are telling me, and as I think the hon. Member will have found in his own constituency, they are talking to me about far more fundamental issues for the hospitality industry in Scotland. They have reminded me that hospitality businesses in Scotland are closing at twice the rate they are in the rest of the country, and that although there was investment in the hospitality sector in the Scottish budget for the current year, it was the first time that had happened. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association has expressed to me that the Scottish hospitality industry is starting off £200 million behind the rest of the country because of how the Scottish Government are reacting.

Those businesses talk to me about the vow of silence from the Scottish Government on business rates and about the need for certainty, but also about improving of planning processes; for the big breweries and pub landlords, the sheer amount of time that development takes means that it is easier to invest in other parts of the UK than in Scotland. Planning for a new-build hospitality business or a change of use takes years. Disproportionate cuts to local government planning services in ongoing Scottish Government budgets have had a wider effect across the whole sector. The hon. Member is probably right that the NICs issue is in the mix, but these matters are much more of an issue, certainly in my sector locally.

Last weekend, as part of Scotland Loves Local Week, I was proud to join Kilsyth councillors Jean Jones and Heather Brannan-McVey in visiting the relatively newly owned Urban Grind coffee shop in Kilsyth. The owners Martin and Marie told me—over coffee—about their struggles in getting the facility open for business, getting the change of use from a vacant shop to a hospitality business, and the need to build a fence between the outside sitting area and the soft play area next door. But they also told me about their investment in a young workforce, who combine studying with working, and the importance of working with businesses in the area. It was good to see the place so full, and I hope those who go to watch Chris Hoy’s Tour De 4 going through Kilsyth on Sunday make a point of visiting not just Urban Grind, but the Coachman, the Scarecrow or the Boathouse, because it is a circular economy; local businesses support other local businesses and make sure that they invest.

When local businesses use hotels in the local community —the local independents—and do not bring people in from Glasgow, there is more chance of the local community benefiting. Everybody I spoke to talked about quality, a changing market and a more discerning customer. They said that a greater proportion of the business is about food and soft drinks than ever before, and that they had to work harder to get customers, but that when they did provide high quality and good value, they got loyalty.

In conclusion, our hospitality industry is continually changing as our habits change. That is a good thing. The hospitality sector should fulfil a key role in our communities, which is way bigger than the blinkered ways outlined in the motion.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

The House will have seen that many Members are seeking to catch my eye. After the next speaker, there will be three-minute time limit.

17:40

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

As Members of Parliament, we receive campaign email after campaign email every week on dozens of issues, from environmental matters to recent calls for a general election. Amid all that, there is one concern that continues to cut through: support for our pubs and the wider hospitality sector. Why? Because the UK’s hospitality sector is more than just about business. It is a vital part of the social fabric of our communities. Whether it is the Nook café in Anstey, the Ex-Servicemen’s Club in Groby or the Coach and Horses in Markfield, these are not simply places to eat and drink; they are places of refuge from everyday life, places where people come together and places that sustain the spirit of our towns and villages.

Yet what do we see from this Government? With Starmer the pub harmer at the helm, it seems they are determined to call last orders on our fantastic hospitality sector. Since the general election, we have witnessed a series of reckless decisions that have shattered business confidence. Take the Chancellor’s disastrous autumn Budget, which slashed the rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors and imposed damaging rises in employer’s national insurance contributions; or look at the Secretary of State for Business and Trade attempting to push one of the most damaging employment Bills in a generation through Parliament—and I know so, because I sat on the Bill Committee. The legislation will do more to hinder job creation than to help workers.

In my own constituency, I have spoken to countless publicans and small business owners who are feeling the strain—none more so than the Royal Oak in Kirby Muxloe, which recently won my Mid Leicestershire best pub competition. Local hospitality businesses in Mid Leicestershire pose the same questions to me time after time. Should they raise their prices and risk losing customers, or should they cut staff and reduce their opening hours just to stay afloat? Neither choice is fair and neither is sustainable. Across the country, we have seen the consequences: 83,000 hospitality jobs lost as a direct result of this Government’s actions. And what for the future? We know the Chancellor is facing a self-inflicted £40 billion black hole as a result of her Budget, and with the recent reshuffle at No. 10, with supporters of high taxes and high spending being promoted, there is a worry among businesses in Mid Leicestershire that the worst is yet to come.

It does not have to be this way. If the Government would only listen to industry experts such as UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association, or to brewers such as Punch Pubs and Everards, we could actually help the industry rather than hinder it. I urge the Government to act boldly and continue to cut business rate reliefs for the hospitality sector, reduce duty on draught beer and lower VAT on products sold in hospitality settings, just as many of our European neighbours do. It is time that the Government stopped punishing the sector and listened to the rational arguments of those who work in and care so much about the industry they love.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I remind Members that we do not refer to other Members by name in this Chamber.

17:44

[Antonia Bance (Tipton and Wednesbury) (Lab)]

In the spirit of the Minister’s invitation, I invite any Member to come to one of our brilliant Black Country Desi pubs, or to come and eat orange chips with me next to the canal.

Everyone in this Chamber wants high and rising wages, and for their constituents to feel that they can just take the family out for a curry on a Friday night. That is why I was so disappointed to see in the wording of the motion before us today an attack on the Low Pay Commission—a piece of settled government machinery that has served Governments of all parties well. The commission is tripartite, representing business, unions and academics; it consults business closely, visits employers and talks to both managers and workers. If Conservative Members were to read the report of the last session of the Low Pay Commission, they would find that it visited hospitality businesses in the city of Glasgow, speaking both to workers and to the people running those businesses. It is one of the very best, most consensual ways of forming Government policy, and I am disappointed in the attack on it, especially as it is at present chaired by a Conservative peer.

I stand here today, as I always do, representing workers. Many hospitality workers are represented by my union, Unite. I am proud of the record of our Government, for far from being a Bill that attacks the hospitality sector, the Employment Rights Bill is written with the hospitality sector in mind. The extension of day one rights is a policy tailor-made for the hospitality sector; as 50% of all hospitality workers do not have two years’ service, they can be hired and fired at will, as if we were America. That is not what we want in our economy. Why should it be possible for someone who has worked faithfully for an employer for a year and 11 months to lose their job overnight, with no process and no reason, meaning they cannot pay the rent next month? We will stop that.

Ditto zero-hours contracts, on which 18% of hospitality workers are employed—the highest of any sector. Let us remind ourselves of the reality of that. Workers on zero-hours contracts cannot set things up because they do not know when they will be working. They may get a text message when they are stood at the bus stop on the way to their shift saying, “Sorry mate, we don’t need you today. Don’t come in.” We will ban those contracts.

My last point is on sick pay. Some 279,000 workers in the hospitality sector earn below the lower earnings limit, and we will make sure they are entitled to sick pay. This is Labour delivering for workers.

The Tories and the Lib Dems, along with their mates in Reform, have ganged up together in the House of Lords to try to gut the Employment Rights Bill, but we will not have it. I do not want the hospitality workers serving me a curry on Friday night—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I call Damian Hinds.

17:47

[Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)]

I am sad to say that the number of payroll employees in this country has fallen by 149,000 in the past year. We now have unemployment inching up towards 5%, with youth unemployment much higher than that. Why do I mention that in the context of a debate about hospitality? It is because a disproportionate number of jobs—tens of thousands—have been lost in this sector. It is absolutely fundamental to employment, along with the retail and care sectors. It is a shame that hospitality was not deemed worthy of a chapter in the Government’s industrial strategy, because if it had been—or, indeed, if the Government had an employment strategy—they would not have done what they did in the Budget.

The hospitality sector is incredibly important. It is important to me personally, as it happens; like many others, I had my first job in hospitality. Actually, it was where I spent most of my career before I became a Member of Parliament. More importantly, hospitality is important to my constituency, as it is to just about every constituency in the country. In my case, it employs around 2,000 people across some 200 establishments, including a number of historic heritage pubs.

Hospitality is important to our nation partly because of all those jobs, but also because an important part of the hospitality sector is overnight hospitality, which is fundamental to tourism, which in turn brings in such important export earnings. I do worry that with all this talk of tourism taxes, it is starting to sound like people think that tourism is, in some way, a problem to be mitigated. Tourism does have issues, of course, but fundamentally, tourism—especially inbound tourism—is an exceptional opportunity to be grabbed.

It is not just about the number of jobs; it is about who those jobs are for. This sector is a key source of first jobs and jobs for people coming back to the labour market, including those who are the very furthest from work. I think of some of the great work done by hospitality businesses—including by one of my old employers, Greene King—with people leaving the criminal justice system, for example.

Of course, we are talking disproportionately about part-time workers. The sector has suffered terrible blows from the big increase in business rates, and the two effects through national insurance contributions, both in the rates and in the threshold, have disproportionately affected part-time workers. We hope for some relief in the delayed Budget when it eventually comes, but there is something Ministers could do now ahead of the Budget to mitigate the situation. I am talking about the Employment Rights Bill.

I know that zero-hours contracts have had a sort of totemic importance for Labour Members ever since their last leader made it so, but we have to get past the idea that a zero-hours contract is necessarily trying to exploit workers; it is not. The NHS has many bank workers in hospitals on zero-hours contracts. Students will often work on zero-hours contracts so they can stay in their jobs, even when they move between home and university. The two things the Government could do to mitigate the situation are to lengthen the reference period to reflect seasonality and to make sure that it is an opt-in right, rather than something that has to be offered repeatedly.

17:50

[Chris Kane (Stirling and Strathallan) (Lab)]

In my constituency of Stirling and Strathallan, castles and scenery may draw tourists, but it is the people in our pubs, cafés, restaurants, clubs and hotels who make them feel welcome. In my constituency, we have no shortage of world-class heritage, picturesque rural communities, scenery, and pubs, restaurants and cafés.

At Stirling castle, visitors can see the great kitchens that provided the hospitality to the court of many a Stuart monarch. After that, they can go to the Portcullis hotel or Stirling’s oldest pub, the Settle Inn, which was built in 1733.

In Causewayhead, the Birds & Bees is nestled in the shadow of the Wallace monument. In Balmaha, we have the Oak Tree Inn on the shores of Loch Lomond. In Tyndrum, the Real Food Cafe and the wonderfully named Green Welly Stop are on the West Highland Way. Visitors to Bannockburn—where Robert the Bruce defeated the English—can go to the 1314 pub, the King Robert Hotel, the Borestone Bar, or the Tartan Arms, where the steak pie, in my opinion, is the best in Scotland.

Out west to Gartmore is the Black Bull bar and restaurant, which was taken over by the community and is now run as a charity. The macaroni there is a treat. In Kippen, we have the Cross Keys pub and the Woodhouse farm shop and restaurant, which are great for a Sunday drive. The Buttercup café in Doune is wonderful for lunch. In Kinbuck, Andy and Kim Murray are breathing new life into the Cromlix House hotel, and, of course, we have the world-famous Gleneagles as well.

In Fallin, a mining village, we have the Gothenburg—or simply the Goth—which is a community-run pub founded in 1911. It is one of the few remaining still running under the Gothenburg system with all the profits donated to the community. During the miners’ strikes in the 1980s, it hosted soup kitchens and supported miners’ strike funds.

When the Opposition talk about their conversations with hospitality businesses, what they leave out is as telling as what they put in. Too often, they are not talking to or listening to the employees themselves. Those employees deserve the best employment rights and a fair wage for doing their job, which is why I am proud of this Government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill and our commitments on the living wage.

I set out this roll-call of hospitality not just to show my pride in Stirling and Strathallan, but because I have had to cut out all of my other points as the speech time limit has been reducing. I also want to make a point that is often lost in these debates: for every venue that struggles—and there are venues struggling, including in my constituency—there are many more that are thriving, innovating and contributing to their communities. Let me end by offering my thanks to everybody working in hospitality in Stirling and Strathallan, and across the United Kingdom. They are doing a remarkable job, and our communities and our country are all the better for it.

17:53

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

I congratulate the thousands of hospitality workers across South Devon for coming to the end of another summer season, catering to visitors from far and wide—from Brixham to Bigbury and from Start Point up to Dartmoor. With 2,618 establishments in my constituency, Members will be pleased to hear that I am not going to start naming them all—[Interruption.] I would miss someone out for sure.

Time and again, this sector is overlooked. Although it is the third largest employer in the country, it was barely mentioned in the Government’s industrial strategy, which was a huge oversight. The combination of decisions taken by the Government since July 2024 is now pushing many businesses to the brink.

This summer I visited 52 villages across South Devon on my surgery tour—though I did not have a drink in every one of them. Over and over again, I heard the same message: the local pub is absolutely vital. They are not just places to eat or drink but a third space where communities can come together. They also offer a vital first step into the working world for young people, and those jobs are not just any jobs. They teach skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving and managing money. Those are real-world skills that stay with kids for life. I sold ice creams in the Edinburgh Lyceum theatre, and both my daughters earned their stripes in the local pubs around Totnes, so I know how valuable these jobs are. With almost a million young people aged 16 to 24 not currently in education, employment or training, we should be doing everything we can to make sure that sectors such as hospitality are open, thriving and hiring.

A couple of weeks ago I met Mitch Tonks, the successful owner behind Rockfish, which has 11 restaurants in Devon and Dorset. He looked me in the eye and told me directly that the choices made by this Government in recent months are killing the industry. The latest rise in national insurance alone has left his business facing extra costs equivalent to opening an entirely new restaurant in one year. The lower national insurance threshold particularly hits seasonal employers. At a time when the country needs jobs and local communities need to be revived, the Government should be encouraging hospitality to grow and create jobs, rather than shrinking and restricting hospitality with taxes.

Hospitality is not a luxury sector but a lifeline, especially in constituencies such as South Devon, where every single village pub, seaside café, family-run restaurant or hotel is a pillar of the local economy. I would briefly like to commend the team at the Bull Inn in Totnes, who this week launched the first ever level 3 award in regenerative and sustainable hospitality. The course will lead to bars and restaurants across the UK learning how to minimise their environmental impact, promote social responsibility, support regenerative farming practices and build long-term business resilience through regenerative practices. It is a truly inspirational new course for the hospitality sector.

17:56

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Last week I was delighted to attend the reopening of what was once my local pub when I first moved to Monmouthshire 25 years ago. The Star on the Hill in Llanfihangel Tor y Mynydd was one of 6,000 UK pubs and bars that closed during the 15 years of Tory neglect, but it has been revived by the brilliant local community and its new landlords, who have worked tirelessly to get it started again.

Other new hospitality businesses have opened recently, including the Fuzion restaurant in Abergavenny and Rustica in Monmouth. Monmouthshire is the food capital of Wales. We have the Abergavenny food festival, which was once described as the Glastonbury of food festivals. Members are welcome to visit on 20 and 21 September and see the incredible hospitality we have on offer.

Over 450 hospitality businesses, employing over 2,800 people, play a vital role in making Monmouthshire a fantastic place to live and visit—from the Black Bear Inn and the Boat Inn, to my new local, the Halfway. The Halfway is run by Rhi and Jason, who have also opened an amazing shop so that people do not have to drive to the nearest shop, because we are a bit out in the middle of nowhere. It is a community interest company, and it is doing fantastic stuff for our community and employing people from the community.

I am relieved that the Government are determined to deliver the support that pubs and hospitality need to survive and begin to thrive once again. Labour backs hospitality and, unlike the Conservatives, it is matching that message with meaningful action. This Labour Government have cut tax on pints and are getting rid of the red tape that stops customers being able to take their after-work pint on to the pavement. The Welsh Labour Government will help my constituents in Monmouthshire by providing a 40% discount on non-domestic rates for businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality for the sixth year in a row. This is the life support that our pubs need, and I know that the Government will continue to do the right thing by engaging with the sector about the challenges it is navigating and the help that it needs.

I look forward to spending as much time as this job will allow in the various pubs and cafés I have mentioned in Monmouthshire. I can now be hopeful that after over a decade of neglect, we can start to see hospitality businesses go from strength to strength.

17:59

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

There are over 300 hospitality businesses in South West Devon, and even though that may not be the highest number in a single constituency, considering the areas of countryside in mine, where the only residents are cattle and sheep, it is a hefty number. There are 316 venues, including the Woolwell Centre, the Who’d Have Thought It, the Black Cat Surf Club and the Plympton Conservative Club, the Exchange in Ivybridge, Nelli’s in Yealmpton, School House at Mothecombe, the Odd Wheel in Wembury and Kingfisher Fish and Chips. The list goes on.

Hospitality in South West Devon means more than 2,000 jobs, a turnover of £91.7 million and an economic value to the local economy of £50 million. Hospitality plays a crucial role in our local community tourism offer—in our area, there is everything from coast to moors to explore. Neighbouring constituencies have even more jobs and economic value at risk under this Labour Government. That is why a group of local businesses have taken matters into their own hands and formed a campaign to save hospitality across Plymouth and South West Devon. I am proud to support it.

The impact of increased employer national insurance contributions; of halving business rate relief; of bringing forward employment rights that nobble employers and add undue cost and pressure; and of the minimum wage increase, even for the youngest employees, is hitting so hard that many businesses fear for the future. The sector is reeling. Businesses are simply not employing new staff, and they are less inclined to employ young people and students.

[John Lamont]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech about the importance of these businesses to her constituency. Does she agree that those businesses are often the very heart of local communities, and that if residents lose them, they lose a vital part of their community?

[Rebecca Smith]

I will come on to that exact point in my remaining few minutes, but absolutely, they are a crucial part of our community.

Why does that all matter? As hospitality businesses across the country bring financial and social value to our communities, they are critical to a thriving tourism sector. They are also a key part of our everyday life, whether it is having the treat of an ice cream on the beach during a summer holiday, using a local memory café with a loved one, chatting over a pint to ease loneliness, or bringing family together for a meal that someone else has cooked, in order to mark a special occasion. However, the increased business costs imposed by this Labour Government mean that there are increased costs to the consumers who want to make the most of those opportunities. It means that fewer people go out; that is what I am hearing from constituents. Then those businesses face closure, which impacts the local economy. It is a vicious cycle and, sadly, the Labour party seems completely oblivious to it.

The equation is simple, and I am saddened and disappointed to see the Labour party stick its head in the sand, completely determined to ignore the issue. If we Conservative Members do not speak up, there will not be a hospitality sector in this country. As I have said, the Labour party keeps boasting about economic growth in hospitality, but I am not sure that we will see that in my constituency, because all the hospitality businesses feel massively under threat.

18:02

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

I am immensely proud of the hospitality sector in my constituency of Calder Valley. Our community has always been amazing, but it was recently made famous by the TV show “Happy Valley”. I always say to the public, “Come to our towns. They have the same amazing scenery, but far fewer murders.”

Hospitality is where neighbours meet, where milestones are celebrated and where people get to find out what is great about towns and communities. My constituency is a string of communities, from Brighouse to Todmorden, with a string of high streets. Between 2010 and 2018, our authority of Calderdale lost 50—nearly a quarter—of its pubs. They were among the more than 10,000 closures nationwide under the coalition and Tory Governments—and that was before the pandemic. Although I welcome the sudden interest in the hospitality sector from the Conservatives, theirs is a new concern.

Hospitality is vital to the future of our high street. As we see high streets moving away from retail because of the internet, we see people selling experiences and connection. An American friend recently asked about the difference between a pub and a bar. Drawing on my experience of both, I said that a bar was just somewhere someone goes to drink, but a pub is a community living room. Change has to include challenging some of the tied pub rules that meant that a pub in my constituency saw the amount it has to pay more than doubled by the pub company Stonegate, from £800 to £1,700 a week. That was because just one week after the six-month probationary period ended, the company invoked a clause to break the tie. That is the kind of irresponsible, rapacious practice that was allowed to thrive under the last Government, and I urge Ministers to look at that.

Conservative Members want to focus on one specific tax, not on the whole strategy for the high street, and it is that lack of holistic thinking that has landed us in this mess: too many tactics, not enough strategy. That is why I welcome this Labour Government’s plan, which has been welcomed by the hospitality sector, to reduce business rates, tackle late payments, cut red tape and deliver a £1.6 billion package that will save the average pub £3,300 next year. That support will give the venues some space to breathe. It will help to keep Calder Valley’s towns buzzing and help our hospitality to thrive, and when our hospitality thrives, our community thrives.

18:05

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

Hospitality is under a huge strain. Pubs particularly are really struggling across the country, and indeed in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley. Nationally, pub closures are estimated to be running at one establishment a day, thanks to this Labour Government’s hike in employers’ national insurance, the hike in the minimum wage and the looming threat of this Labour Government’s Employment Rights Bill. The number of closures is only climbing, and these punitive measures are pushing our pubs to the brink.

That is coupled with disposable income tightening for families, including families who may want to support our pubs. In the Bradford district, council tax has been raised by 10%. That impacts all my constituents who want to spend money at their pubs but cannot because they have to tighten their belt. The Dickie Bird in Long Lee and many other pubs are coming under a huge amount of strain as their overheads increase; they are, dare I say it, looking at closure. I met the owners of the Dickie Bird recently, and they expressed to me how much financial strain this Labour Government’s policies have put on them; that has ultimately led to them having to make the decision to close.

[Tom Hayes]

My understanding is that the Airedale NHS foundation trust covers the hon. Member’s constituency. The waiting list there has fallen from 14,779 to 13,846, there are 32,312 additional urgent dental appointments, and £3.3 million is going to the hospital to support building and other safety works. Does he welcome that investment, which is partly funded by the national insurance contributions increase?

[Robbie Moore]

As all of us know, I have been campaigning tirelessly to secure the funding to rebuild Airedale hospital, and it was finally announced in 2023, but it was very disappointing to many of my constituents when the completion date for the rebuild was pushed back by this Labour Government from 2030 to 2035. My constituents and others from surrounding constituencies will now have to wait much longer for the rebuild to be completed because of the decisions made by this Labour Government.

The Airedale Heifer, the Busfeild Arms, the Brown Cow and the Black Hat are all fantastic pubs in my constituency, and I encourage everyone to go along and buy a pint of Timothy Taylor’s—one of the finest breweries in this country. A pint of Landlord will go down very well. The Bridgehouse brewery in Keighley also produces fantastic ales. All these establishments want to be supported, but they are expressing to me the challenge of their increased overheads, resulting from this Labour Government, and particularly from the employers’ national insurance increase. The Turkey Inn in Goose Eye is also experiencing the same challenges.

These punitive measures are directly impacting communities, as I have said. They hurt young people who want to start out in the workplace. The Government have rightly made a great deal of the importance of getting young people into work, but the Employment Rights Bill, the increase in employers’ national insurance and the hike in the minimum wage are making it much more difficult for the hospitality sector to recruit young people and provide opportunities for them to thrive, get work experience and earn an income. That is impacting many constituencies, not least those across the Keighley and Ilkley area, which I represent.

18:09

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

As the third-largest employer in Britain, hospitality supports 3.5 million jobs and is the beating heart of our high streets and communities, yet this vital sector has been let down by a decade of Conservative neglect; over 10,000 pubs closed between 2010 and 2024. This motion continues to let down businesses and workers, and as my hon. Friends the Members for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank), and for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance), eloquently pointed out, our workers are our hospitality sector—workers like my cousin James, a fantastic head chef in my city. He has been a skilled professional for over two decades. He deserves the same workers’ rights and protections from the Low Pay Commission as any office worker.

This Labour Government are turning the tide. We are backing hospitality with our new hospitality and night-time economy zones, cutting red tape, and supporting al fresco dining to boost footfall. We are delivering permanently lower business rates for hospitality in 2026 and developing our strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises. Through our safer streets mission, we are reducing crime and keeping our workers safe, but we must also recognise the unique challenges facing seasonal hospitality businesses, particularly in coastal communities. These areas have remarkable booms during the summer months, but face economic hardship through the winter. This feast-or-famine cycle makes it difficult for businesses to budget. That is where the English devolution Bill is crucial. By empowering mayoral combined authorities with greater control over growth and resources, we can develop targeted support for seasonal economies—a great example of this Government working together to protect workers. Local leaders understand their communities’ rhythms. They know when businesses need support, and understand the impacts, both positive and negative, on the local economy and our public services.

The hospitality sector—pubs, restaurants, hotels and leisure facilities, as well as the often forgotten and ignored security staff who keep us safe in those venues—is vital. I want to praise all the fantastic workers and businesses in Portsmouth who go above and beyond in our city. There are so many great places to spend leisure time. They provide employment and contribute brilliantly to our communities. They include the Café on the Green and the Cross Keys—the final pub left—in Paulsgrove; Bar Aroma, the Heath’s tearoom and café, set up by two brilliant young sisters, and the Drayton Tavern in Drayton and Farlington; the Mardin café and the Star & Garter in Copnor; the Casemates and Hilsea Lines cafés in Hilsea; Makemake brewery and Beeny’s in Baffins; the Palace café, the Highbury café and the Portsbridge pub in Cosham; and the Mother Shipton and the North End café in Stamshaw and North End, to name only a few. I thank all of them, and hope that they continue to flourish under our Labour Government.

18:09

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

Hospitality has been battered by a perfect storm of punishing taxation, regulation and soaring operational costs, which has left pubs and restaurants fighting for survival. In recent months, I have visited 36 of the 55 pubs in my constituency and hosted a hospitality roundtable. I will shortly be sitting down again with the family chain, the Healy Group. Everywhere I go, the story is the same: rising costs, thinning margins and landlords asking, “How much longer can we keep the lights on?”

In this darkness, I can bring a little ray of delight and hope to my constituents. During the summer recess, I continued my constituency pub tour, part of my best pub campaign. I am delighted to announce to the House that the Crown at Arford has won that accolade in the Farnham and Bordon constituency. You may be aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, that Fleetwood Mac’s “Down at the Crown” was inspired by this pub, so if the Chancellor ever finds herself lost in East Hampshire, she might fancy a visit—though judging from Labour’s economic stewardship, she would probably relate more to one called “Closing Down at the Crown”.

I joke, but there is nothing amusing about the reality. Since May, four pubs in my constituency have been driven out by Labour’s relentless war on small businesses, including the Wheatsheaf Inn at Grayswood, which has closed indefinitely. The sector is collapsing, despite what Government Members say. Six pubs are closing every single week. That is because, from April this year, relief collapsed to 40%, halving their protection while doubling their pain. The Budget hiked national insurance, increased the minimum wage and added £3 billion to their bills. The Chancellor’s 1p off a draught pint gesture was not just laughable but insulting.

Jay at the Six Bells told me bluntly that on a £5.50 pint, pubs make about 8p. That is the future that Labour is offering. The Bluebell in Dockenfield, a family business run by Lucy and Robin Catchpole, is fighting tooth and nail to thrive. Pubs are the heart of our towns and villages, and Labour is ripping out that heart.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

I do not want to rain on the hon. Gentleman’s pub parade, but my constituency has a proud history when it comes to pubs, as for 60 years it was the only place in the country where the pubs were nationalised—although I am not calling on the Minister to reintroduce nationalisation of pubs. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that one thing that would help our pubs would be to extend the pubs code by introducing a guest beer agreement—like the one in Scotland—so that we get more independent products, and more people, into our pubs?

[Gregory Stafford]

That sounds like an interesting idea. I will support anything that will get the pub industry thriving, but to be frank, Labour is destroying the opportunities for pubs to thrive, and I am afraid a guest ale will go no way towards solving that problem.

I am conscious of time, Madam Deputy Speaker, so I will touch briefly on the fact that it is not just Labour in Westminster that does not understand the hospitality industry. The Liberal Democrats in Waverley are showing the same wilful blindness. Farnham is undergoing major infrastructure works, and its hospitality and retail businesses are struggling. I urge the council to act. It has the powers to provide business rates relief, but it has done nothing. Borelli’s Wine Bar and Grill, for example, has operated since 1987, yet the Lib Dems sit on their hands, proving that they share Labour’s contempt for small businesses.

Hospitality is being taxed, squeezed and regulated into oblivion. If Labour carries on like this, the last orders bell will ring not just for our pubs, but for the very character of British life itself.

18:16

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

It was a great moment when my daughter pulled a pint for me as part of her duties as a barmaid in her first job as she worked her way through university. Although that job put vital cash in her pocket, it also gave her people skills and proof on her CV that she was reliable and trustworthy with cash valuable stock. Her work today is far removed from that bar, but the foundations of her career were laid there. Yet across Dumfries and Galloway, hospitality businesses tell me that they are pausing giving youngsters like my daughter that all-important first job. The increase in employer’s national insurance contributions to 15%, and the lowering to £5,000 of the secondary threshold, are Labour’s dreaded £900-a-head black spot curse on bright youngsters ready for the world of work.

In Scotland, matters are made worse by the anti-business SNP, which is not passing on moneys intended for business rate relief, and whose multiple unit pricing alcohol regime makes Scotch whisky more expensive in the land of its birth than in many other places. Shrouded in pious health messaging, MUP has had little discernible effect on problem drinking and seems more like the SNP fun police given free rein. Spirits prices are high; business spirits are low.

No doubt the wealth-finder general, the new Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister—tough on growth, tough on the causes of growth—will seek new ways to squeeze hospitality. Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is technically a fruit; wisdom is being wise enough not to put a tomato in the fruit salad. The Pensions Minister is, improbably, holding the pen on the nightmare-before-Christmas Budget. He has a lot of knowledge about taxes, but has he the wisdom not to deploy them in the growth basket?

Hospitality is a canary in the economic coalmine. The fact that pubs are closing and restaurants open only a couple of days a week at best is a leitmotif for this anti-business Government. They think that business is a dripping roast to be devoured to fund ruinous policies such as the Chagos surrender deal. Terrifyingly, hospitality is supping in the last chance saloon, but surely it is last orders for this maladroit Labour Government? Haven’t they got three homes to go to?

18:19

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Hospitality is more than an industry; it is a way of life. My first jobs were in hospitality—potato rumbling in the basement of the Crown in Cowden, with my brother Spencer potwashing, and learning the bar at the King Henry VIII in Hever, where my sister Chloe worked—and for 14 years I ran a hospitality business in my constituency with my husband Paul. All my children, like so many others, have worked in hospitality. It is an amazing learning ground for life and deeply rewarding.

Through our business, we supported families through the happiest and saddest days of their lives. We befriended the lonely, offered a daily catch-up for regulars and became a hub for community groups and local businesses. But it is a tough life, with unsociable hours, low pay and insecure conditions the norm. In the nine months since the Budget, more than 80,000 people in the industry have lost their jobs, including my son Isaac.

I first got involved in local politics because of the crippling cost of business rates. I continue to campaign on that. I hear the argument that the Conservatives had no plan to continue the relief, and that interim measures are better than nothing—but that is cold comfort to businesses facing massive cost increases, uncertain revaluations and no assurance about what happens next April.

It is not just the rates, but the whole regime. Hall & Woodhouse, the brewery that runs so many brilliant pubs in Dorset, explained that revaluations after refits directly disincentivise investment. The Minister will say that he cannot pre-empt the Budget, but I want him to hear loud and clear that some hospitality businesses will not make it until April. For those that do, without permanently lower costs, the writing is on the wall.

On national insurance, I have to take issue with the claim that small businesses are not worse off. I have run a hospitality business, and with the front and back of house 12 hours a day, seven days a week, more than five full-time members of staff are needed. My constituent Craig from Bear in Wimborne explained that national insurance costs for part-time workers on the minimum wage have increased 74.5%. Those costs have to be passed on. As well as affecting prices, they are likely to lead to slower wage growth and job losses.

The cost of going out impacts heavily on gen Z. As a mum of four of them, I welcome the reduced drinking culture and healthier lifestyle, but the reality is that they are preloading at home to reduce the cost of a night out. That is no criticism of the night-time economy—its costs have increased with the responsibilities of Martyn’s law—but we must change our tax regime to reflect how our society is changing.

Hospitality is not just about food and drink; it is about people, community and the very identity of the United Kingdom. Let’s not just save hospitality; let’s celebrate it.

18:22

[Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)]

Diolch, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for hospitality, events, major food and drink businesses in Wales.

The hospitality sector in Wales has enormous economic value. It contributes £4 billion to the Welsh economy and employs more than 165,000 people. It also has immense social value, creating strong communities and providing opportunities for local people, often young people whose first job is in hospitality. However, the tax changes introduced by this Government have placed huge pressure on the sector.

This summer, a report by Family Business UK showed that on Ynys Môn changes to business property relief and agricultural property relief could result in a more than £10 million reduction in gross value added, as well as the loss of 167 local full-time equivalent jobs. That pattern is seen across Wales. The report also finds that Wales will see some of the steepest forecast declines in investment, turnover and employment due to the changes to BPR and APR.

Beyond the statistics are the real impacts on family-run businesses, such as Kingsbridge caravan park in Beaumaris, which has been family-owned for 26 years. Those running it say that the increases to employer national insurance have already forced them to reconsider employing wardens next year and have affected their ability to reinvest in the caravan park.

Analysis by UKHospitality Cymru shows that of the 164,641 job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, some 89,000 have been in hospitality. About 2,600 of those are in Wales—roughly equivalent to the number of jobs lost at Port Talbot due to the closure of the blast furnace, but spread across our communities throughout Wales. The sector is crying out for the Government to recognise the urgent situation and to acknowledge that many businesses are barely treading water, unable to invest or grow.

Hospitality is an important source of skills and growth for Ynys Môn and Wales, yet this Government are putting the brakes on that growth through short-sighted decisions. Thousands of jobs have already been lost and future investment has been cut. To prevent a bad situation from getting worse, the Government must rethink their damaging increases to employer’s national insurance contributions and the upcoming changes to business property relief, and give the Welsh hospitality sector the breathing room it needs to flourish.

11:30

[Matt Vickers (Stockton West) (Con)]

Hospitality is at the heart of our local communities. It is the best of British: the pubs we visit for a pint or two, the restaurants where we go to celebrate a special occasion, or the bars that power our night-time economy. My constituency is home to some truly incredible hospitality businesses—if you have never been for a night out in Yarm, you have never lived. We do not love pubs just because we love pints. The great British pub brings communities together. They tackle isolation, provide a safe environment where people can consume alcohol, support more than a million jobs and help many youngsters get their first foot on the employment ladder. The best ideas are usually the ones we come up with in the pub. Pubs are places where community spirit is found and fostered. If I had more time, I would tell hon. Members about the innovative and generous support shown to local charities by the Locomotion in Eaglescliffe and the Griffin in Thornaby.

Like several MPs, I host my own pub awards, recognising and celebrating the best of our local pubs. This year’s winner was Courtney and the incredible team at the Myton House Farm pub in Ingleby Barwick. I am looking forward to celebrating more places in the coming years, such as Luna Blu, a fantastic local tapas restaurant and bar in Yarm; the Derry in Long Newton, where people can get a warm welcome, great grub and all the village gossip while enjoying one of the best beer gardens around—if Carlsberg made beer gardens, the Derry in Long Newton would be its aspiration—or the Masham in Hartburn, a must-visit eatery that arguably serves the best parmos on the planet. I would love to tell the House more about the incredible hospitality businesses in Stockton West, but time does not allow.

[John Lamont]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and demonstrating why he is such a great champion for Teesside. Does he agree that many businesses are not just facing the prospect of closing, but of possibly laying off more and more jobs? In my constituency, Mainstreet Trading, a fantastic award-winning bookshop, deli and café, wrote to all its customers earlier this year to say that opening hours were going to be reduced because of Labour’s tax on jobs. Is he experiencing the same in his constituency?

[Matt Vickers]

Very much so; I could not agree more. These are opportunities for young people to get a first foot on the ladder in the job market. Between October 2023 and July 2024, the number of hospitality businesses increased and the number of jobs in the sector increased by 22,000. Surprisingly, after Labour’s Budget, in exactly the same time period, we have seen 89,000 job losses—89,000 people unable to provide for their families or live out their aspirations and dreams. It is shameful, it is a disgrace, and people did not vote Labour for that.

Speaking to landlords in my part of the world, I am told how real the fight is to save the great British pub. Labour’s jobs tax, its Employment Rights Bill and the slashing of small business rates relief have meant that 89,000 jobs have already been lost in the hospitality sector, and UKHospitality believes that the figure could be as many as 200,000 by the end of the financial year. Labour’s jobs tax means it costs £900 more to employ the average employee, meaning some hospitality businesses are unable to provide opportunities for those youngsters to get their first job. It is part of the reason 14% more people in this country are unemployed and left unable to support their families or fulfil their dreams and ambitions—

[Antonia Bance]

indicated dissent.

[Matt Vickers]

The hon. Member for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance) should not shake her head—that is true. It is a fact.

In the last Parliament, I campaigned for the 75% discount on business rates for leisure, hospitality and retail businesses. It was game changing for many, but with the stroke of a pen, the Chancellor stood at the Dispatch Box and ended that lifeline thrown to many employers. With the average pub having seen its business rates increase from £3,938 to £9,451, and the average restaurant from £5,051 to a whopping £12,122, the Government are taxing the sector to death. Two hospitality businesses are closing every day and it is thought that more than—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I call Christine Jardine.

18:29

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

I come to Parliament this week fresh from the Edinburgh festival—on which note I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Hon. Members will be pleased to hear that I was there not as a performer, but because every year I am tempted across the border into neighbouring constituencies by the absolute feast of music, theatre, dance, literature and comedy that is the Edinburgh festival. Every year it contributes £400 million to the city’s economy, and it is hosted and supported by a hospitality industry that, in my constituency alone, is valued at £200 million and supports 6,500 jobs.

That is the big picture, but there is a much smaller and individual picture about the businesses who come to me every week with complaints. I have to say to Conservative Members that this issue did not miraculously start in July last year; it has been going on for the past decade and since the Conservative Government destroyed the economy on a whim a couple of years ago. These businesses are suffering and under threat.

[John Lamont]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Christine Jardine]

No, actually—I think the hon. Member has said enough today.

Those businesses are suffering and they have been for years. Hon. Members know how important they are not just to my constituency, to Edinburgh or to Scotland, but to the United Kingdom, because of the jobs that they create and the people they employ. That little picture is about families who are dependent on those businesses and who tell me that they are unhappy with the national insurance changes.

[John Lamont]

Tourism tax!

[Christine Jardine]

Those families also tell me that bigger businesses, like Edinburgh zoo and fantastic tourist businesses, which the national insurance changes have added—

[John Lamont]

Tourism tax!

[Christine Jardine]

The hon. Gentleman is beginning to sound a bit like a parrot.

[John Lamont]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Christine Jardine]

No, I will not give way. We hear the hon. Gentleman. I will repeat the phrase for him again: tourism tax. Yes, we know that Edinburgh is taxing tourists, but it is doing that to support its hospitality business, which has been under threat for a decade.

We need to look at the burden that our businesses are carrying: the national insurance burden; VAT, which could be reduced; and the business rates in many places. I appeal to Ministers to listen to the constituents we have heard from today—to listen to my constituents. They should listen to the fact that if those businesses fail, our economy will not have the growth on which this Government and every Government depend so much for our future. Each of those small businesses makes up an important part of that big picture: the hundreds of millions of pounds—the billions—that hospitality brings to this country.

18:29

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

May I first thank Alex Leitch from my office for helping me to research what was going to be a long speech? I will use just little bit of it, given the limited time that I have in which to speak.

I spent weeks in my constituency over the summer recess, as other colleagues did in theirs. I spent one week volunteering with small businesses and another visiting pubs in my constituency. I heard at first hand from many owners and employees about the dire situation they face, not just because of Labour’s increase in national insurance contributions, but because of its crippling Employment Rights Bill.

As someone with a small business background, I am appalled that these policies have been cloaked as favourable to the working person. I have always been in favour of supporting hospitality, which is the cornerstone of our communities. In my constituency alone, the hospitality sector added more than £76.6 million to our economy, and the hospitality sector in general is growing at almost double the rate of the UK economy.

The hospitality industry is one of the highest-taxed sectors in the UK economy, and I am very disappointed that the Government have continued to hammer our service industries with NIC increases and minimum wage increases, all while boosting the salaries of people like train drivers, who are already on £65,000.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Mohindra]

There is not enough time.

Others have already spoken about the retail, hospitality and leisure relief scheme in 2023, so I will not dwell on that. Let me just say that the hospitality businesses I speak to remain disappointed that the 75% discount applied previously has not been adhered to. Small independent businesses like the Kitchen Croxley in my constituency have warned me of the job losses that will become inevitable just to keep their doors open on account of Labour’s policy changes.

If we continue down this path, we will only see higher levels of inflation and unemployment and increasing reliance on our universal credit programmes. I have no doubt that, despite putting an enormous additional £40 billion burden on British taxpayers—taking the tax burden to its highest ever level—the apparent lack of foresight will only lead to more dismay in the future.

Other Members have spoken about the number of pubs that have closed, as well as the job losses in the hospitality sector. However, one point I have previously mentioned and I think is relevant to this debate is the lack of business experience among the Cabinet. Having run a small business and understanding the challenges associated with that would, I hope, lead to a better policy position than we are currently seeing. I look forward to further U-turns from this Government, because where they are doing the right thing, Conservative Members will support them. There is a long list of things they could be doing better, and I hope that when the Minister responds, he will give at least a glimmer of hope to the small businesses that are struggling.

18:35

[Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)]

First—strangely for this debate—I would like to directly address part of the motion that is before us this afternoon. I am concerned that the harassment of people in the hospitality sector would be made worse under part of the motion. However, I strongly support the motion as a whole. As somebody who was brought up in a guest house in Torquay, you could say that the hospitality industry is in my blood. In my mind, Torbay is the premier resort in the United Kingdom; sadly, it is also the most deprived constituency that rejoices in having a Liberal Democrat MP, so there are some wicked challenges there as well.

My constituency has an income of £371 million from the hospitality sector. That is £1 million more than the national constituency average, with 1,000 businesses across the constituency rejoicing in providing hospitality. I warned last November that the national insurance hike would rip the heart out of our hospitality industry in the west of England and, sadly, I have been proven right. The Office for National Statistics has highlighted that there are 84,000 fewer jobs in this sector than there were, and there were a quarter fewer vacancies in the sector this summer in Devon and Cornwall. As colleagues have already highlighted, those are often entry-level jobs—opportunities for students to get some extra money in the summer break to help them through their time at university—so this is extremely important. There has been a lethal cocktail of the national insurance hike; the cost of living crisis, which has impacted not only the industry but the punters who have less discretionary spend; and the failure to properly reform business rates, which is essential.

One sector of our tourist industry that has been particularly hit is our zoos and aquariums. They have also suffered from the bum Brexit deal, which has left them with some real challenges in being able to replenish their animals from other zoos across Europe and elsewhere in the world. As such, I ask the Minister to convene a summit for zoos and aquariums up and down the country to assist them with the real economic challenges that many are experiencing in the challenging world that we in the United Kingdom face.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. The wind-ups will start at 6.40 pm prompt.

18:38

[Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)]

The hospitality industry in Eastleigh contributes £113 million every year, generates £56 million in economic value, employs 1,805 people and sustains 84 pubs, cafés, restaurants and hotels.

My constituent Lorraine, the landlady of the Master Builder pub in West End, saw her wage bill rise by £1,500 compared with the same month last year despite having no extra staff. She now works 70 hours a week, earning the equivalent of £5 an hour, and in the past two years she has had just five days off. Jane is the manager of the Holiday Inn in Eastleigh, a popular base for those wishing to watch cricket at the Utilita Bowl and for families wanting to explore Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park nearby. She tells me that they have been unable to fill vacancies because of the increased payroll burden from national insurance hikes.

David, the owner of Steam Town Brew Co, tells me that for a part-time member of staff doing just 10 hours a week, costs have risen by more than 9% year on year. For small breweries such as his, these increases make it harder to keep staff on, to recruit and to invest in local jobs. Does the Minister acknowledge that the changes to employer national insurance contributions act as a disincentive for small, labour-intensive businesses—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I call the shadow Minister.

18:40

[Nigel Huddleston (Droitwich and Evesham) (Con)]

Before I start, may I refer hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests? I have also taken hospitality below the declarable amount from UKHospitality and the BBPA—I am sure I am not the only one.

I thank all hon. Members for their contributions from across the UK. We have heard some enthusiastic and supportive comments on the industry, but it is a pity that the policies are not so supportive. From the start I was left wondering what planet some of those on the Government Benches are on. They are clearly not talking to the same hard-working and angry people working in the hospitality sector as those on the Opposition Benches are. If they had been, I do not believe for one minute they would have been so enthusiastically supportive of decisions and policies that are doing such immense damage to an industry that supports 3.5 million jobs in the UK.

Hospitality is one of the most important economic sectors and is our third biggest employer. It was a British success story. While we were in power between 2010 and 2024, we oversaw the creation of 4 million jobs—that is 800 jobs a day—and nearly 20% of all those new jobs created were in the hospitality sector. However, since Labour’s disastrous Budget, nearly half of all jobs lost have been in hospitality. Where Conservatives create, Labour destroys. The irony of this Government is that they say they are prioritising growth, yet they are implementing policies that do the opposite. The job losses in hospitality are a direct result of the unexpected and unnecessary employer national insurance increases that have added £1 billion to the cost of hiring people in this sector. The Government also whacked up business rates on hospitality, costing the sector a further half a billion pounds.

As a result of Labour’s decisions, a generation of young people will miss out on their first job opportunity in hospitality—a sector that is particularly enthusiastic about employing young people. Of the 164,000 job losses in the UK since last year’s Budget, almost 89,000 have been lost in hospitality, and more are expected. According to UKHospitality, 79% of hospitality businesses have had to raise prices, and more than half have cut staff. That is before the Deputy Prime Minister’s further attacks on business with her unemployment Bill, burdening UK businesses with more rules and regulations and costing businesses another £5 billion, according to the Government’s own estimates. As I said last year, the Chancellor’s Budget will go down in history as the most anti-business Budget that this country has ever had. Her legacy will be as the destroyer of jobs. We will see how much further she goes in this year’s Budget.

This Government are well on the way to securing the unenviable record of every Labour Government since the second world war of leaving office with unemployment higher than when they started. It is the private sector, business and especially the hospitality sector that are paying the price for Labour’s mistakes and poor judgment.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

Will the shadow Minister give way?

[Nigel Huddleston]

I will not because of time, I am afraid. I spent a good chunk of the summer travelling around the country, meeting key players in the tourism, hospitality, heritage and leisure sectors. Everyone was complaining about how hard they have been hit by this Government’s policies, and the sector is angry—so angry, in fact, that they have given the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor a middle name, and a good Anglo-Saxon one at that. They told me about job losses, inability to invest, and profit margins being eroded or disappearing all together. Seaside amusement arcades, for example, are closing their doors early, or on certain days, or all together, because it is no longer profitable to stay open.

The focus today is on hospitality, but it is clear that the wider tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors are all being hit. Nearly every sector overseen by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has been hit by Labour policies, and this is a big deal. Why do people holiday in the UK, or come here from overseas to visit? It is because of our heritage sites, our museums, our art, our culture, our theatres, our festivals and our sporting events. About a million people visit the UK every year just to come and watch football games. All these sectors are being hit, and the 40 million-plus overseas visitors who come to the UK each year spend £33 billion in our pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and so on. All that is at risk. Tourism is a highly competitive global industry, but this Government’s decisions are undermining our competitiveness in respect of both domestic and inbound visitors. We should always remember that inbound travel spend is all-important export revenue.

Let me respond to some of the comments made during the debate. The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism said that this Government had made the “difficult” decisions to increase taxes. What a load of nonsense! The easiest—the laziest—thing for any Government to do is dip into other people’s pockets and spend money on their behalf. The difficult decision is to be restrained about spending and to reduce taxes, which is what we were doing before the election.

The hon. Members for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) and for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance), among others, asked why we were not supporting the Deputy Prime Minister’s unemployment Bill. The answer is simple: it will cause more unemployment. The hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) asked why we were attacking the industry and talking it down. We are doing no such thing: we are talking this Government down and talking this Government’s policies down.

My hon. Friend the Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) pointed out that when we were in government, we rightly supported this sector to the tune of about £25 billion during the pandemic, with measures such as the furlough scheme, the cutting of VAT on tourism, the culture recovery fund and the sport survival fund. We were desperate to get the sector open as soon and as safely as possible while the then Opposition were saying that we should keep things closed for longer, so we will take no lectures from them on that.

My right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) rightly drew attention to the disgraceful fact that the hospitality sector is almost completely absent from the Government’s industrial strategy despite its importance. My hon. Friend the Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) spoke of the need to talk to industry and then talk to the Treasury, credibly and confidently, with statistics and information. I do not believe that the DCMS is doing that. It does not appear that it carries any weight with the Treasury, as evidenced by the policies that are attacking all these sectors. My hon. Friend the Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) invited us all for a pint. I will take him up on that offer; the first round is on him. I believe that the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas), my constituency neighbour, did the same.

Several Members, especially Government Members, asked where the money would come from if we did not increase national insurance contributions. The answer is simple. We would not have spent £10 billion on inflation-busting pay rises for union mates. We would not have spent £8 billion on the National Wealth Fund, £7 billion on GB Energy—which does not produce any energy—or £35 billion on the Chagos surrender Bill. There is the answer.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) highlighted the additional concerns of this sector given the impending hits to inheritance tax, business property relief and agricultural property relief, which are especially worrying for rural and farming communities. That point was also made by my hon. Friends the Members for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) and for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth).

It is clear from its policies, and from today’s debate, that Labour simply does not get business. Perhaps that should not be surprising, given how few members of the Cabinet have actually started or run a business, or even worked for or spent any significant time in the private sector. Few Labour Members have any understanding of, or appreciation for, the hard work and effort put in by entrepreneurs, risk-takers and owners of businesses, especially small businesses, who work so hard to employ others and generate taxes. Labour certainly knows how to spend other people’s money; it just has no idea how that money is generated in the first place.

On the Conservative Benches, we have a party that is unapologetically pro-business, because the Conservatives know that we can have good public services only if we have a dynamic private sector generating the taxes to pay for them. Supporting the private sector and enabling it to succeed is good for public services, too. The hospitality and tourism sectors know that they have a friend in the Conservative party. We appreciate them, and we want them to succeed. We stood by them during the pandemic, we appreciated and applauded their growth when we were in power, and we will be there again to work with them when this Government collapse and we pick up the pieces once more.

We will back business. We will revive the economy and bring opportunity and prosperity back to this country through pro-enterprise policies based on core Conservative principles: lower taxes, smaller Government, light regulation, personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility and living within our means—principles that my party, and only my party, understand and abide by. The British people deserve so much better than this shambolic Labour Government, and we will not rest until they get it.

18:50

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)]

Only yesterday I sat down with some of Britain’s great publicans—award-winning Tommy Higgs and Mike Dove of the Three Horseshoes, Emma Gibbon from the Plough in Prestbury, Justine Lorriman of the famous Royal Dyche in Burnley, Matt Todd of the Wonston Arms, and the excellent Steve Alton of the British Institute of Innkeeping—to go through the details of the challenges they are facing, so I welcome the chance to underline the Government’s recognition of the importance of hospitality businesses in all our communities to the economic, cultural and social life of our country.

In this debate we have heard many other examples of great hospitality businesses, notably in the excellent speeches of my hon. Friends the Members for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey), for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes), for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin), for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan), for Gedling (Michael Payne), for Leeds North West (Katie White), for Hexham (Joe Morris), for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank), for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray), for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance), for Stirling and Strathallan (Chris Kane), for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes), for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) and for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin).

Hospitality is a sector that contributes well over £50 billion to our economy and employs millions of people across the UK. It is particularly important for young people, who need to gain essential skills and experience to pursue successful lives. It is also often an entry point for those who want a second chance in life, and I pay tribute to Greene King for working with 65 prisons across the UK to provide inmates with hospitality training. It aims to hire 400 prison leavers by the end of this year.

What all the contributions to this debate underline once again is that hospitality is truly the backbone of our high streets and the lifeblood of our communities. However, pubs, cafés, restaurants and hotels felt the full force of the headwinds unleashed by the economic incompetence of the Conservative party. We had 14 years of Britain’s hospitality entrepreneurs being let down. The Conservatives unleashed a cost of living crisis, and interest rates rose 14 times. We had double-digit inflation, with food prices driven higher by the disastrous Brexit deal that they signed. The Conservative party said that it was against red tape but made it ever harder for hospitality businesses to change and innovate. According to the British Beer and Pub Association, the last Government’s watch resulted in 10,000 fewer pubs. When both shadow Ministers held key roles in government, a total of 185,000 hospitality businesses closed their doors for good between 2017 and when they left office.

We are turning the page on that grim period with an industrial strategy to boost the whole economy by driving business investment, productivity and innovation across the economy. Businesses across all sectors have welcomed this approach. Frankly, they welcome the marked departure from the permanent chopping and changing of policy that marked the 14 years when the Conservatives were in power. We had austerity, the disastrous trade deal with Europe, and then the revolving door of Prime Ministers and Chancellors. We are doing things differently by setting out comprehensive, research-backed and business-informed strategies to help businesses plan not just for the next 10 months, but for the next 10 years and beyond. Focusing on our core industrial strategy sectors will benefit the rest of the economy, too—for example, the creative industries are a key sectors that will help drive benefits and opportunity for the hospitality sector.

It is a little rich for the Opposition to talk about omissions from the industrial strategy, when they gave up on having any kind of industrial strategy in their final years in office. All our work is complemented by our small business strategy: to back entrepreneurs, to invest in the high street, to improve access to finance, to open up overseas and domestic markets, and to build business capabilities. Inspired by the US’s Small Business Administration, we have launched our Business Growth Service, which will be the go-to place to get the advice and information that businesses and entrepreneurs need. We are determined to tackle the scandal of late payments, which the Conservative party never did.

On business rates, let us remember what the Conservatives promised six years ago. In their 2019 manifesto, they said they would begin a fundamental review of the business rates system, but they never did. They were due to reduce business rates relief to zero from April this year. We stopped that—we have kept the relief—and we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to create a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment and drives growth. We will deliver permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, and I certainly agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch that it is staggering that the Scottish Government will not commit to do the same.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer had to take difficult decisions in the Budget last year to fix the £22 billion black hole in the public finances. The decisions she took were vital to help build the long-term stability that is essential for investment, creating jobs and, crucially, putting more money in people’s pockets. While I understand the sector’s concerns about the increase in national insurance contributions, we are protecting the smallest businesses by increasing the employment allowance to £10,500. Some 1 million employers, of which thousands are hospitality businesses, will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of employers will see no difference or will gain from this package.

We are committed to reducing regulatory burdens to bring down the cost of food, which is why we negotiated a sanitary and phytosanitary deal with the European Union. It is also why we launched the licensing taskforce, with proposals to rebalance the licensing system to better support business growth, cultural vibrancy and public safety. We will bring forward further work in that space shortly. We have also introduced the hospitality support scheme to co-fund projects in line with Hospitality Sector Council priorities, including by supporting initiatives such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment, particularly in rural communities. Indeed, the Conservative party axed all funding to support pubs, including support for Pub is The Hub.

Successful pubs, cafés and restaurants depend on people having the money in their pockets to go out and enjoy what are the best hospitality businesses in the world. Wages grew faster in the first 10 months of this Government than they did in the first 10 years of the Conservatives’ time in office. Disposable incomes are set to rise during this Parliament at twice the rate they did during the last Parliament. Business investment is up, almost 400,000 jobs were created in our first year in office, we have had five interest rates cuts and business confidence is rising.

The Conservatives gave up on pubs; they gave up on entrepreneurs; they gave up on cafés, restaurants and hotels; they gave up on small businesses; and they gave up on high streets. They never had a strategy for growth, they certainly did not have a strategy to back hospitality, and they certainly have not offered any new ideas today. We do have a strategy for growth, and we will continue to work with the hospitality industry to address the challenges it faces. I urge the House to reject the motion.

Question put.

18:58

Division 275

Ayes: 158

Noes: 334

[Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Earlier today at Prime Minister’s questions in relation to the Norwegian Government’s £10 billion investment in the Scottish defence sector, the Prime Minister stated, “I am perplexed that the First Minister of Scotland has not welcomed this deal.” The problem for the Prime Minister is that the First Minister did in fact welcome the order from the Norwegian Government to Scottish shipbuilding, meaning that the Prime Minister’s statement today was untrue.

The First Minister said:

“The announcement by the Norwegian Government of their intention to buy frigates from BAE is obviously a significant boost to employment and opportunity in the defence sector in Scotland. It’s an indication of the steps that have to be taken to ensure that countries are able to defend themselves. And I welcome the investments in Glasgow.”

This is an open and shut case and a serious one where the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was today engaged in advancing a completely false accusation against the First Minister of Scotland. I seek your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, on how we might get the Prime Minister to come to the House to correct the record.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I thank the hon. Member for giving me notice of his point of order. The content of Members’ speeches or responses by Ministers are not matters for the Chair. However, the Treasury Bench will have heard the Member’s point of order, and I am sure that if there is a need to correct the record, the Prime Minister will do so.