CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a £300 million support package for pubs as the industry warns that rising business rates could lead to bankruptcies.
The Treasury has been preparing relief on business rates bills for pubs from April, although Reeves is said to have resisted wider changes to the system.
Lobbying groups say pubs face a 76 per cent rise in business rates over the next three years, reported The Times.
Reeves is also expected to outline plans to relax licensing rules for hospitality venues ahead of this summer’s football World Cup.
Industry sources said the support is likely to be temporary, with any changes to the methodology or multiplier used to calculate rates expected to take longer, reported The Times.
UK Hospitality said the average hotel could see rates rise by 115 per cent over three years.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, criticised the move, saying: “Labour is scrambling to announce this package but it’s a sticking plaster solution when the patients are bleeding out all over our high streets.”
Reeves said this month she was “particularly concerned” about the impact of business rate changes on pubs and said they were her “biggest concern”.
