Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a tax-break-based hospitality voucher scheme to support businesses in the UK.

The Government understands the acute impact the pandemic is having on the hospitality sector. This sector is a vital source of employment across the country, and that is why – in addition to the CJRS, tax deferrals and loans – we have prioritised support for hospitality businesses and introduced several targeted measures to protect jobs. This includes:

• A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in England
• The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund
• The Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, which subsidised 100 million meals through August
• A temporary reduction in the VAT rate from 20% to 5% on most tourism and hospitality-related activities.

The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic, including on specific sectors, and to work with businesses and representative groups to inform our efforts to support the recovery as we head into the Autumn.

The Chancellor and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy meet regularly to discuss support for businesses and the economy as a whole.