Support for hospitality businesses

Motion Text

That this House notes with alarm that the hospitality sector suffered 297,000 job losses between February and November 2020 according to Office for National Statistics data; recognises the immense efforts and sacrifices hospitality business owners, including many from BME backgrounds, have made to keep their premises covid-19 secure prior to the latest lockdown; observes with concern that many pubs are now on the brink of extinction; believes that the Chancellor of the Exchequer's offer of extra business support does not go far enough, a position echoed by representatives from the CBI, BCC and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB); urges the Government to extend the job retention scheme to the end of the second quarter and remove the business rate relief cliff edge in April; and calls on the Government to meet UK hospitality representatives to establish a roadmap to recovery for the sector in 2021.