'Absurd': Michelin-starred chef slams Government attitude to hospitality industry
One of Yorkshire’s leading chefs has described it as “absurd” that Labour has not rolled out the extra business rates support for pubs to hotels, restaurants and cafes.
Tommy Banks, who runs the Michelin-starred Black Swan in Oldstead and the Abbey Inn in Byland, said there “remains a real lack of understanding in Government about the challenges facing business, and hospitality in particular”.
Mr Banks was speaking after the Government announced that pubs and live music venues in England will benefit from 15 per cent off their business rates bills, and these will then be “frozen in real terms” for the next two years.
This came after warnings from the sector that changes from November’s autumn Budget - including the ending of Covid-era relief - would lead to mass closures and job losses.
Mr Banks revealed this would have seen the property taxes at the Black Swan effectively double.
The outcry was such that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was banned from her local in Pudsey, and the Government rushed to introduce a rescue package for pubs.
“It’s disingenuous for the Government to describe this as ‘relief’ when these new business rates haven’t even come into effect yet and won’t until April,” Mr Banks said.
“Hospitality is already at a crisis point - in the last quarter of 2025 alone, more than four venues a day closed.
“Going into the last Budget, the industry was crying out for meaningful help and support, and what’s been delivered feels like the opposite.”
Furthermore, there is no additional help in the immediate term for restaurants, cafes and hotels, other than a reevaluation for the latter by 2029.
Trade organisation UK Hospitality warned that hotel business rates are set to increase by 115 per cent by that time.
Mr Banks added: “It’s frankly absurd to limit this support to pubs while excluding restaurants, cafés and hotels.
“The idea that these businesses can be neatly separated shows a lack of understanding of how the hospitality ecosystem actually works.
“How they plan to categorise businesses fairly and consistently is unclear - and it highlights just how disconnected the policy is from the reality on the ground.”
In York, both MP Rachael Maskell and Mayor David Skaith have also raised concerns about the impact on independent shops on the city's iconic high street.
Ms Maskell said that hospitality businesses are going to see an average rise of 41 per cent, according to the local business improvement district (Bid), and independent shops 27 per cent.
“Having met with many independent business owners, they fear the cumulative impact of the rateable value revision and relief reductions,” she said.
“It will mean doors closing and trade ceasing, they just can’t do it.”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray defended the policy, telling The Yorkshire Post: “There is support for the wider hospitality sector which was announced at the Budget last year.
“There is £4.3bn worth of relief put into the system to help any businesses that find their business rates bills increasing.
“That will help any hospitality venues who see their bills increasing, largely as a result of the temporary Covid era relief being tapered off and coming to an end.
“There is a specific challenge that pubs face, partly because of their methodology for their valuations being different from cafes and restaurants.
“So we’ve stepped in with some extra support, on top of the wider support for hospitality, which means that three-quarters of pubs will now see their bills falling.”