Warning that hospitality is ‘on the brink’

A HOSPITALITY group with roots in Dumfriesshire is calling for government actor to help the sector.

It was sparked after it was revealed that the industry had lost another 5000 jobs across the UK, bringing the total to 89,000 jobs lost since the last UK Budget.

Annandale restaurateur Stephen Montgomery, above, is director of the Scottish Hospitality Group and pointed out the job losses represent 53 per cent of all UK jobs lost since the Chancellor’s Budget.

He also highlighted the devastating impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions.

This week Mr Montgomery said: “Hospitality has reached the cliff edge, which is exactly as we have warned it would over the last five years. The question now is, when will Governments on both sides of the border actually start listening?

“Hospitality should never be seen as a luxury. It should be an affordable pleasure for everyone, and part of the very fabric of our daily lives, but to make that a reality, governments must step up, because only they have the power to create the conditions that allow our sector to thrive and survive.

“Talking shops and closed door committees are not the answer. We don’t need more warm words or tick box exercises. What we really need is real action, because in the end, actions will always speak louder than words.”

Setting out the “stark reality of an industry on the brink”, he added: “Hospitality is one of the UK’s largest employers, supporting millions of jobs and powering local supply chains.

“It plays a vital role in keeping town centres and high streets alive. But with soaring costs and punitive tax measures, businesses are being pushed closer to the wall.

“Operators across Scotland and the wider UK are “fighting tooth and nail”, some to fulfil their entrepreneurial ambitions and grow, others simply to keep their doors open.”

And he wants to urgently see a cut in VAT for hospitality; a reversal in the rise in employers’ National Insurance; and a fit-for-purpose NDR Policy for licensed hospitality in Scotland.