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Chancellor considering further relief measures for hospitality

Published:  12 November, 2020

Rishi Sunak has said that there will be further support designed to get people “out and about” post-lockdown, in response to questioning over whether there will be a return to the Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO) scheme.

Speaking to Sky News this morning (12 November), the Chancellor said it wasn’t the time to comment on any specific details, but did say that measures would be put in place to encourage people to go out and spend.

The shape new relief could take may well differ from the earlier EOHO scheme, which saw an uptake of 100 million discounted meals through August, delivering a desperately needed boost to on-trade operators, while footing the Treasury with a £522m bill.

That support, though, while welcomed by the trade, fell far short of countering the plight of the sector in the months to come, with a 10pm curfew and ‘rule of six’ maximum gathering rule impacting hard.

Recent data from the Market Recovery Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners revealed that just 69.9% of all UK licenced premises still had their doors open by the end of October, down from 80.4% at the end of September, with tiered restrictions in Scotland and England, plus full lockdown in Northern Ireland and Wales, impacting ahead of the further blow of a second England lockdown.

In line with industry bodies such as UK Hospitality, the Moniter suggested the number of closures was a sign that the sector may be “substantially reduced" after the end of the UK’s various country-specific lockdown.



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