Rishi Sunak announces £1bn business relief package to support the UK Hospitality Industry

British hospitality businesses are set to receive business relief grants after the Government pledged an additional £1bn in financial support.

The cash injection, announced by Rishi Sunak at the party's conference today, will come from a new Business Support Scheme under which firms hit by COVID will be offered up to £6,000 in grants.

The scheme is in addition to the £3.5bn already pledged by the Government to help businesses and workers affected by the pandemic.

The sector has been hit hard in recent weeks, with pubs and restaurants reporting widespread cancellations. 

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said: "The hospitality sector has already seen the effects of the Omicron wave, with 40 to 60% of December trading already lost. This is due to canceled bookings, footfall, and socialising."

Sunak said the move was designed to ensure that "no business is left behind" as the country works to recover from the crisis.

Mr Sunak told delegates: "Firstly, we are announcing a billion pounds in financial grant support, which means eligible hospitality companies will be able to claim a cash grant worth up to £6,000.

“We are also reintroducing our statutory sick pay rebate scheme so that small and medium-sized companies can claim compensation from the Government for the cost of sick pay for their employees."

The Treasury said around 200,000 UK businesses will be eligible for the business grants, which will be administered by local authorities and will be available in the coming weeks.

Further support, including the reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality and tourism sectors, will last all the way into next spring.

Commenting, Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality CEO, said: “This is a generous package building on existing hospitality support measures to provide an immediate emergency cash injection for those businesses who, through no fault of their own, have seen their most valuable trading period annihilated. 

“It will help to secure jobs and business viability in the short term, particularly among small businesses in the sector, and we particularly welcome the boost to funds for the supply chain and event and business catering companies so badly affected by the reintroduction of work from home guidelines. 

“It is a generous top up emergency fund in addition to previous support and with a commitment from Ministers to prioritise hospitality and its supply chain in allocation of funds. There is now a real urgency in getting this funding to businesses so we urge local authorities to prioritise distribution of funds to make sure jobs and businesses are preserved through this difficult period.”

200,000 UK businesses will be eligible for the grant, which will be available in the coming weeks.