West Midlands pub and club bosses welcome business rates cut - but say more support needed

Pub and club bosses in the West Midlands have welcomed new PM Andy Burnham’s 20 per cent business rates cut for pubs, clubs and live music venues but ‘there’s a long way to go’ - they’ve stressed.

Mr Burnham has announced a cut to business rates bills for pubs, social clubs and live music venues across England from April next year - which will save a typical pub an estimated £1,100 in the next financial year - with the changes funded through reviewing reliefs for businesses that do not make a positive contribution to local communities, such as vape shops.

The new PM, who replaced outgoing Sir Keir Starmer Monday, said the change was just the start as the revamped Labour government works “to bring back hope across the country”.

‘Any relief is absolutely welcome,’ Dudley pub landlord Patrick Harley said of the news but he added that more needs to be done to save the hospitality industry.

Councillor Harley, who runs The Green Man in Swindon near Dudley borough where is leader of the council, said: “Business rates for our pub are £300 a month so they're reducing it to £200 a month. It's welcome but by no means does that put us back to where we were.

“It was one of the first measures introduced by Rachel Reeves...and it absolutely killed us.

“It's welcome news but there's a long way to go before they repair the damage to the hospitality industry.”

He said he aims to continue running the pub until the lease expires in 2029 and he added: “This government has killed the pub trade. We can't wait to get out.

“The days of landlords making huge profits have gone. They've killed it with the business rates, National Insurance and minimum wage rises.”

Fellow Dudley councillor Shaun Keasey, who runs pubs and clubs in Dudley, Wolverhampton and Redditch, concurred and said: "As Tesco say -’ every little helps’ but it really is a little. “It's tinkering around the edges. It sounds good to people listening to the news but it's a very, very small amount of support to individual businesses - £20-30 a week.

"What hospitality needs is proper support.

"The employer National Insurance changes that were brought in by Rachel Reeves need to be reversed - they are killing pubs, bars, restaurants and hospitality.

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“It's all very well offering this very very small package of support - it makes no difference when you're on the ground running a venue.”

Councillor Keasey, deputy leader of Dudley’s Reform UK Group and chairman of Wolverhampton City Pubwatch group, owns Apollo entertainment venue in Wolves, Gorgeous night club, Popzone night club in Wolves, George Wallace in Victoria Street, Popzone & Gorgeous in Redditch...and he’s just taken on Ye Olde Foundry in Dudley.

He said: “I love hospitality - I've loved it from a young age - it's something I've always wanted to do. That love doesn't go away because the government seems determined to tax hospitality out of existence. We will fight and fight to keep our venues afloat.”

He said news of the 20 per cent cut “sounds good” but he added: “For it to mean anything we need to reduce business rates by 75 to 80 per cent.”

Ash Corbett-Collins, chairman of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), described the business rates cut as “a brilliant start to the new Prime Minister’s tenure”.

He added: “Our business rates system is grossly unfair to pubs and social clubs, bricks and mortar businesses that are also vital social institutions for their communities and desperately needs reform.

“As always we need to see the details at the Budget, but another year of rate relief will provide vital breathing space to publicans in England, while the work to review the rating system for hospitality businesses presumably continues.”

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, also welcomed the news.

He said: "Our pubs, clubs and live music venues are the cultural lifeblood of our places, creating jobs and bringing life to our high streets and town centres.

"This cut to business rates is a welcome boost that will help businesses weather rising costs, protect jobs and continue investing in the places that keep our communities alive."

Lyle BIgnon, the Night Time Industries Association’s night time economy ambassador for Birmingham, said: “Today’s announcement that business rates are to be slashed for pubs, clubs, and live music venues is a welcome shot in the arm for our sectors.

“This development comes as a result of months of collaborative working between the NTIA, the new Prime Minister and his team.

“The policy is a step in the right direction in recognising the value of hospitality, music, and the NTE, but also in acknowledging the unprecedented challenges that venues have faced in recent years.”

Emily Stubbs, head of policy at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, described the business rates cut as “a sticking plaster rather than a cure”.

She said: “Andy Burnham’s announcement of a further cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues is a positive step and a welcome recognition of the vital economic, cultural and social contribution these venues make to our town and city centres.

“It will be particularly welcomed after the sustained increases in business costs the hospitality sector has faced in recent years.

“But ultimately, this is a sticking plaster rather than a cure. Businesses are still waiting for the comprehensive reform of business rates that has been promised for many years.

“As ever with business rates, the devil is in the detail. Firms need clarity on who will qualify, how exactly the policy will be funded, and what it means for wider reform of the system.

“Meaningful, long-term reform remains essential if we are to create a fairer tax system that supports investment, growth and thriving high streets.”

The Government said the cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues forms part of a series of measures to cut costs for working people and communities, including electricity bill VAT relief and the £2 bus fare cap announced earlier this week.

It said it would return to its commitment to reform the wider business rates system, including Small Business Rates Relief, at the Budget.