Alex McIntyre

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. If not for hospitality, I would not be here today—quite literally, because my parents met while working second jobs in a pub in north London. Later, they ran a small bed and breakfast, where I was cleaning rooms and serving breakfasts from an age I probably should not advertise here. I cooked my first full English for paying guests at 13 years old, and at the same age started working in the local pub as a pot wash. At 15, I moved to front of house at another hotel, where I worked for more than seven years. Hospitality gave me many of the skills that led me to this place, and I care deeply about the sector. Times are tough. Small businesses across Gloucester tell me time and again about rising energy bills and soaring food prices, driven up both by the wars in Ukraine and the middle east, and by the tax burden they face. But in the middle of this difficult patch, Gloucester’s hospitality sector continues to deliver for local residents. Dr Foster in our docks was named best town pub at this year’s Great British pub awards, a real testament to the team there. We have fantastic independent coffee shops such as Coffee House 43, Forum Coffee and the Roastery, and brilliant restaurants such as Topoly’s Italian on Southgate Street. Just last Sunday, I was in The Fountain Inn for a fantastic roast dinner in between Remembrance Day services. Many of those businesses have asked for a cut in VAT; I understand those calls, but I also recognise that in the current economic climate, that is a challenging decision for any Government to deliver. Any tax cut, proposed by any party, needs to be paid for, but that does not mean that we should not be supporting our hospitality industry, and in particular targeting support for local, independent small and medium-sized enterprises. I welcome the Government’s recent announcements on business rates: a 20% cut for pubs, clubs and music venues from April and taking around 70,000 smaller hospitality and retail businesses out of business rates altogether.