Expert Insight
NEWS from
Kate Nicholls UKHospitality Chief Executive
Each time a new threat to hospitality has emerged, our industry has borne the brunt, whether Covid, rocketing energy costs, the cost-of-living and the cost of doing business, rising inflation and, latterly, industrial action.
That last one, in the form of rail strikes, scuppered what operators had hoped would be a clear run at festive season profits for the first time in 36-months. Alas, it wasn’t to be, as prospective guests, faced with disrupted travel plans, cancelled bookings in their thousands.
It means the sector is set to suffer a New Year hangover, as rail strikes delay the return to work, turning town and city centres into ghost towns for longer, and piling further misery on commuters, visitors and tourists, not to mention already hard-pressed hospitality workers and businesses made vulnerable by the loss of those vital pre- Christmas sales. Enough is enough, and all sides must now reach an agreement to avoid further strikes, before they inflict lasting damage on the wider economy.
Through it all, though, UKHospitality has fought the industry’s corner, making the strongest case possible for the sort of help and support to enable hospitality – the sector we’re convinced is best placed to lead the UK’s economic revival – get back on its feet.
This year we’ve been carrying on where we left off in 2022, fighting hospitality’s corner in Westminster, Edinburgh and Cardiff on issues such as energy, workforce and industrial action, while at the same time urging government reform that will enable our industry to thrive once more.
Of immediate concern as we start 2023 is energy bills support for
hospitality businesses beyond March, which is why we’ve been liaising daily with the Government on this key issue, making the case for our sector to be included in any scheme beyond March. We expect to hear more from government in the coming weeks, if not by the time you read this.
Longer-term, relating to the industry’s workforce challenges, we believe there are several ways in which government can boost the sector: flexibility in its immigration scheme to reflect labour shortages would make a huge difference to operators trying to fill vacant roles; expanding the Youth Mobility Scheme to include EU member states; and, when looking at skills and developing our own talent, let’s reform the Apprenticeship Levy. Just three examples from many, of how the Government can boost hospitality, and all of it low-hanging fruit that would benefit operators across the board.
Further staffing help is set to come from this September via the introduction to T-Levels of a two- year catering qualification, which can be taken post-GCSEs as an alternative to A-Levels, other post- 16 courses or an apprenticeship. T-Levels have been designed in conjunction with leading
businesses and employers to give students the knowledge and skills they’ll need in hospitality jobs. They’re something UKHospitality is fully behind, and we’re looking forward to them starting.
Something on which we’ve already seen progress is the registration scheme tackling short-term lets, which was confirmed just before the end of last year, and which is something UKHospitality has long pushed for. The proposed new ‘Tourist Accommodation Scheme’ in England will ensure short-term lets have to register with local authorities and will monitor their impact on local communities.
A few reasons, then, to hope for a better 12-months ahead – boy, does the sector need that!
Yet, in spite of the multiple challenges facing hospitality, most of the people I speak to in the sector remain doggedly determined, having come this far, to see things through and emerge the other side bigger, better and stronger.
UKHospitality, of course, will be there to help that happen; always making the case for an industry that’s fundamental not only to the UK economy, but to the very fabric of UK life.
6
January 2023
www.venue-insight.com
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