England to cut taxes for pubs and live music venues, raise levies on vape shops

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A bit more from the Night Times Industries Association lobby group, which is also wary of the small print – while welcoming the broad policy.

Michael Kill , its chief executive, said he wanted to know in particular which live music venues would be excluded. He said:

We are still awaiting the full details and eligibility criteria, which are expected to be announced at the autumn Budget. We will also seek clarity on the proposed exclusion of the largest live-music venues and continue to press for the final scheme to provide the broadest possible support.

The government is undoubtedly making the right noises. We look forward to continuing this constructive dialogue and ensuring these commitments translate into tangible and inclusive support for businesses throughout the night-time economy.

We welcome this as a positive down payment on the PM’s commitment to support hospitality and his pledge to return to look at this again at the budget. While support for pubs, bars and live music is welcome, [it misses out] the restaurants, cafes and hotels which are the heart of our communities and backbone of the high street.

So if the PM truly wants to to deliver a high street renaissance and growth in every postcode then we need to look at a business rates cut for the whole of hospitality and tackle the broader cost of doing business. We’ve seen £6bn extra taxes across the sector in the last two years so we need more.

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