'Business rates cut for pubs is soft U-turn'

The owner of a business that operates as a pub, hotel and wedding venue has called the announcement that pubs and music venues in England will be given a 15% discount on business rates bills a "soft U-turn".

The discount will come into place from April and pubs will not see increases for two years.

Stuart Phillips, chef patron and co-owner of The Hundred House in Norton, said it was good news for pubs but as his venue was classed as a hotel, it faced the full increase on business rates, and he described the change as a "sham".

Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson said the three-year package would be worth £1,650 for the average pub in 2026-27.

Tomlinson said pubs were "the cornerstone of so many communities" and the government wanted to "go further" in supporting them after the number of venues fell by nearly 7,000 since 2010.

The change came after a backlash against November's Budget, which left many facing major increases in their business rates bills, and led to more than 1,000 pubs banning Labour MPs from their premises.

"It's only for pubs, it's only for a couple of years, and it's only 15%, when a vast amount of pubs will see their increases in wages, national insurance, electricity, heat, go up hugely," said Phillips.

"They've done it for pubs, because there was the whole Labour ban from pubs. The pub industry started a campaign and lobbying, and it became not ideal news for the government."

Tuesday's additional package means that three in four pubs will see their business rates bills fall or stay the same next year, the government said.

Questioned about why the Treasury made a series of changes to major policies, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government "listens when people raise concerns".

"We've been going for 40 years, we are a pub, hotel, restaurant and wedding venue - so we've got many streams of revenue, so we have to keep increasing our revenue [just] to stand still and then we have to look very carefully at our costs," Phillips said.

"Last year we spent over £300,000 on a new development on the site and we've always looked to grow, but at the moment it makes you feel like that might not be the best priority - we just need to stay safe."

He said he felt that the chancellor had "got her foot on our neck".

As part of a further bid to support struggling pubs, the government is planning to allow them and other licensed venues to stay open after midnight when home nations teams play in this summer's men's World Cup.

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