Pub owners have dubbed the Budget's 1p cut to draught duty rates is “laughable”, and said hikes in national insurance, the minimum wage and business rates are expected to cost landlords thousands of pounds a year.
In Wednesday's Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government would be cutting draught duty rates by 1.7 per cent or a “penny a pint”, to loud cheers from the onlooking Labour benches.
However, the reality was not a celebration for publicans, with the impact of this being considered irrelevant in comparison to rising costs.
A hike in employer National Insurance contributions, a 6.7 per cent increase to the National Minimum Wage, plus other changes are all set to squeeze profits for publicans.
Vickie Officer, owner of The King William in Chapeltown, said: “It's laughable.
"What they have done has told everyone the pint is going to be cheaper, but it’s not because everything else is going to go up.
“People are already struggling at the moment, it is up and down and with everything going up, wages might be going up, but it won’t mitigate anything else it will just make it worse.”
The rise in the minimum wage is expected to put additional strain on boozers, and while sounding like a positive for staff, Vickie said the reality is likely to be staff getting fewer hours, reduced staffing, or job losses.
Vickie added: “People's hours are going to have to be cut, and people might be told that I won’t have work for them anymore.”
Parliament also cheered after Reeves' announcement to support the hospitality, leisure and retail industries with a 40 per cent relief on their businesses.
However, rates for this year sit at 75 per cent and Vickie claims this shift will cost her business more than £3,000.
The industry already struggles with rising costs, due largely to the cost-of-living crisis, and fewer people coming for a drink means money coming over the bar has also dropped.
Charlotte Brear, owner of the Black Lane Ends Tavern in Colne, said: “I think every independent pub is going to shut.
“Wages are going up again, so how much do you charge for a chicken dish, how much for a steak and ale pie?
“You must pay your senior staff over minimum wage or else they won’t stay. Your bills are the same, electricity and gas are always increasing.
“There are going to be a lot of people at the job centre in the next couple of months from the hospitality industry.”
Paul Lewis is the general manager at Ego at The Knowles Arms in Blackburn, and due to being part of a wider brand, he thinks the effects will not be felt so strongly in the short term for them.
He said: “I don’t think it will directly affect us at this second or buying power at this point, but it could potentially affect us down the road.
“The minimum wage situation will impact certain things and price points will go up due to the fact we need to have that as it is.”
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