Gideon Amos

The pubs, restaurants, cafés and hotels in our hospitality sector are not just places to eat and drink; they are the heart of our communities. They provide jobs, keep our high streets alive and make our communities better and stronger, but many of them tell me that they feel abandoned as a result of the Government policies that we are discussing. Across the country, an average of 30 pubs close their doors every week. In Taunton and Wellington, Shane Fisher, who runs the lovely Allerford Inn at Norton Fitzwarren, has recently taken on the Racehorse Inn in Taunton town centre. He describes policy effects that are simply unsustainable. The business rates that he pays are now greater than his lease—than the cost of the building. Business rates at that level simply cannot be right. The Castle hotel in Taunton, an iconic landmark that has been a hotel since 1786 and has famously been run by the Chapman family since 1950, faces similar challenges. In 2024-25, it paid £21,000 in business rates; the very next year, it is being asked to pay well over double: £52,000. That is an increase of £30,000. When that is combined with the damaging increase in national insurance last year and other cost increases, upwards of £200,000 has been added to its costs in a single year. The Little Wine Shop in Taunton’s great independent quarter told me that this kind of increase in costs, coupled with VAT, is killing the industry. I hope the Minister agrees that these increases are simply unsustainable for small family businesses. As a result, all these kinds of businesses are in survival mode. Hospitality businesses need support, not just through fair taxes, but by seeing the benefit of their taxes being invested in public services, such as policing. That is why I am delighted that our Liberal Democrat town council in Taunton is introducing street marshals, who will provide reassurance, safety and support to people in the town centre. I welcome the Government’s 10 extra police officers in Taunton and west Somerset. We have campaigned to restore proper community policing, which reassures people. Visible patrols are essential for the confidence of traders and customers alike. Too often, Government treat policing purely as a cost, and fail to see its economic benefits. Lifting town centre businesses by providing safe environments that attract customers is hugely valuable. Nowhere is that more true than for hospitality, and I encourage the Government to go further on that. The Government’s business rates hit hardest the bricks-and-mortar businesses that make up our town centres. On top of that, there is the rise in national insurance, which is nothing more than a tax on jobs. The burden falls most heavily on businesses and sectors like hospitality, which have a large proportion of part-time workers.