Rachel Reeves pledges to 'stand by pubs' as Tom Kerridge insists Government support package 'not enough'

Pubs and music venues in England will get 15 per cent off their business rates next year, with the amount they pay frozen for two years after that, the Government announced today, marking Labour’s latest U-turn.

The support will be worth around £1,500 per year for every pub that receives it, the Chancellor told LBC’s Natasha Clark.

"Most pubs will benefit from the changes today because we are providing additional support, which is worth around £1,500 this coming financial year for pubs,” Ms Reeves told LBC.

Read more: Financial support for pubs and music venues criticised as ‘wholly inadequate’

“And the smallest pubs obviously didn't pay any business rates at all. But for pubs that do pay business rates, they will see the full benefit of this.

“We all know that in the last decade or so, hundreds of pubs have closed, and we want to do things differently to support pubs that are vital community assets. It's why we reduced the business rates tax in the budget. But at the same time, the valuation of pubs that hadn't been revalued since the pandemic increased, and that's why the amount being paid went up.

“We wanted to support pubs, which is why we already put in a package worth £4.3 billion in the budget, and we're providing an additional almost £100 million worth of support today."

Despite pubs and music venues receiving support, owners of restaurants and hotels have accused Ms Reeves of abandoning them.

Denying these claims, the Chancellor told LBC: “The £4.3 billion that we put in at the Budget does help many hotels, restaurants and cafes.

“But also remember that small business rates relief means that the smallest cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, have never paid business rates and they will continue to get that small business rates relief.

“Pubs are diversifying. Increasingly, you see pubs that are the local Post Office or the local shop, perhaps in many villages, and we want to support pubs doing that.”

Ms Reeves also revealed this support could see pubs granted permission to stay open later for events like Eurovision or a World Cup Final.

The Chancellor said the government is “really excited” about the potential of later opening times.

Despite this, Michelin star chef Tom Kerridge has told LBC the changes are simply "not enough."

He told Tom Swarbrick: "I think it's still slightly confusing.

"I feel there's a sense of some form of joy and relief in the fact that perhaps through pressure, through being on shows like this and the industry beginning to put a voice in from a publican point of view that the government has paid attention or are at least listening.

"It feels that the door is slightly ajar to conversation. Moving forward, regarding the hospitality sector, at the minute, it has just dropped into pubs and I'm not quite sure how many actually across the board are going to be helped by this."

Speaking today, Dan Tomlinson told the Commons he understood times had been hard for pubs, as he said the support would be worth more than £1,600 for the average pub. The valuation model used for pubs will also be reassessed.

Mr Tomlinson said pubs had not had the support they needed “for too long”, and referenced 7,000 pubs shutting their doors under Conservative led-governments between 2010 and 2024.

He said: “This Government does want to go further to support pubs. Pubs are the cornerstone of so many communities; they are essential to the social and cultural life of so many places across the country.

“Today I can confirm that from April, every pub in England will get 15 per cent off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at the Budget. Pubs’ bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

“This support is worth £1,650 for the average pub, just next year, and will mean that around three-quarters of pubs will see their bills either fall or stay the same next year. Then bills will be frozen in real terms for the next two years.”

This support will also apply to music venues, Mr Tomlinson added.

He added: “This week is also independent venue week, so it’s particularly appropriate that I can announce also that our package will apply to music venues too.

“Many live music venues are valued as pubs and many pubs are grassroots live music venues. It would not be right to seek to draw the line so tightly so as to include some and not others.

The Labour minister said that licensed venues could open until 1am or 2am in the summer in order to show games featuring UK teams during the men’s football World Cup.

He said: “We will legislate to increase the number of temporary events notices for pubs and other hospitality venues, whether that is to help them screen World Cup games or other community and cultural events.

”The Commons also heard the Government will consult on loosening planning rules to help pubs, which could mean they will be able to add guest rooms or expand without planning applications.

“We will also continue to engage with the sector to ensure that other retail, leisure and hospitality premises have flexibility,” Mr Tomlinson said.

The Conservatives have branded the Government’s pub support a “temporary sticking plaster” and demanded a permanent solution.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride told the Commons: “Is that it? After all this time, after weeks of telling our local pubs that help was on the way, this is all they get – a temporary sticking plaster that will only delay the pain for a few, while thousands of businesses despair as their bills skyrocket.”

“Support must be permanent,” he added.

“We have to cut business rates for our high streets to give certainty to local businesses, and it must be far wider than what the Government has announced today, not just pubs, but the whole of the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors which bring life to our high streets and town centres.”