Chancellor 'adds to woes' of hospitality industry

The Chancellor’s decisions to raise alcohol and fuel duty in Wednesday’s Budget will ‘add to the woes’ of the hospitality industry says the head of one of the largest purchasing consortiums.

Beacon Purchasing director Chris Durant said the 2 per cent rise in alcohol duty which came into force at midnight on Wednesday, would cause further pain to pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels already suffering from customers’ cut in leisure spend.

He said: “The exchange rate is so bad at the moment that wine costs have already spiralled and another 4p on a bottle is not going to solve the country’s problems but will add to the woes of hospitality businesses throughout the country.

“Surely the Government can understand that they would be better encouraging hospitality businesses and helping them grow – that would probably generate far more additional tax revenue and keep more workers in employment than by the measures announced yesterday.”

The British Hospitality Association told BigHospitality on Wednesday it had been disappointed that the Chancellor had not made any moves to help the hospitality industry and called the increase in alcohol duty `unhelpful`.  

Their views were echoed by members of the British Institute of Inkeeping (BII), who met to discuss the impact of the Budget on the industry on Wednesday. 

Conrad Sturt of the Half Moon in Windlesham, Surrey, said the combination of fuel and alcohol tax could put as much as 20p on the price of a pint by January 2010 and Claire Bignell, manager of Maison Blanc in Burford, Oxfordshire said additional costs and smaller margins would inevitably have an impact on staffing levels. Ultimately, Bignell said she feared cutting hours would make a career in the industry less appealing to those entering it.

BII chief executive Neil Robertson said: “The industry works hard to promote the licensed trade as a highly worthwhile and professional career choice and attitudes have been shifting in recent years. There’s no doubt that the situation we now find ourselves in will significantly affect people’s perceptions. These are the subtle, yet far reaching, consequences of the Government’s harsh measures on our industry.”

Chancellor raises alcohol duty by 2% but pledges to help businesses