Expert Insight
NEWS from
The eyes of the nation are currently on the Tory leadership contest and the search for a new Prime Minister. The candidates have now been whittled down to two and, depending on your politics, will be watching with bated breath or with an increasing sense of despair.
Whoever takes the reins and secures the key to Number 10, there is likely to be a significant knock-on effect for businesses and hospitality will be no exception.
In recent weeks we have seen both candidates make some statements that have caused a mixture of optimism and pessimism across the business world. The rhetoric from both Johnson and Hunt around a potential no-deal Brexit seems to be ramping up, which has raised understandable concerns among hospitality businesses. There is still plenty of time until the Halloween exit date, so hopefully we can still avoid or mitigate a no-deal exit that would cause serious headaches for hospitality businesses.
A key issue for hospitality businesses for some time has been business rates and it looks set to remain the case. Despite pledges in the Conservative Party manifesto to reform the system, we have not had the large-scale positive action we had hoped for. If either candidate wishes to support high street businesses, then there is no better place to start. Jeremy Hunt has already pledged a major overhaul of the business tax system and it is to be hoped that decisive action is taken to boost investment in high street businesses. Johnson, meanwhile, has made some remarks about the “nanny state” which could lead to an easing
6 July 2019
www.venue-insight.com
of regulation around food towards a focus on information campaigns to improve customer choice.
Of course, another huge issue for hospitality employers remains recruitment and retention. We need to entice new workers, young workers into hospitality and the problems that businesses have faced in doing so are not a secret. The new, post-Brexit, immigration scheme is still up in the air, but as the pieces fall into place it is going to have profound consequences for us. Although most of our team- members are home grown, we augment our workforce with non-UK workers and will need to continue to do so if we expect to grow. If access to non-UK workers is tightened, then businesses will find it even harder to fill those hard- to-fill vacancies. Any future immigration system needs to work in the interests of the country and reflect the needs of the economy. It cannot be purely politically- driven. Hunt has so far shown himself to be fairly pragmatic on the issue, but Johnson has recently come out in favour of a points-based system which could put hospitality employers at a significant disadvantage.
More than anything, perhaps, we need a Prime Minister who “gets” the UK’s hospitality sector. We need a PM who understands the unique appeal of our vibrant and exciting sector and appreciates the unique blend of challenges and opportunities we face.
Kate Nicholls UKHospitality Chief Executive
Future Prime Minister Must Support Whole Economy on Migration
Responding to proposals for a future immigration system proposed by Boris Johnson, UKHospitality has reiterated the need for policy to fully focus on supporting businesses to deliver economic growth, above political considerations.
Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, commented: “The future immigration policy announced last December was disastrous for hospitality and the wider UK economy. Since then UKHospitality and businesses across a huge range of sectors have made the case that a more pragmatic approach will help to grow the UK economy, and the Government has seemingly accepted this position.
“Moving towards a point-based system has inherent risks, not least the potential for too much Government intervention in the labour market - something Conservatives have fought against for many years.
“Existing proposals need to be adapted to back business and those who want to work in the UK, rather than shutting the door on economic growth.
“The Government also needs to refocus on helping hospitality to develop its UK workforce through effective apprenticeships and a further education system that delivers the homegrown talent that industry needs.”
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