Hospitality Sector

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

If I might, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will start with an apology. As I told the shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston), last night, I am not able to be here for the end of this debate—I do apologise.

[Hon. Members]

Oh no!

[Chris Bryant]

Well, I am glad that people like me being here—that is very kind. I am not going to be kind for the rest of my speech, so the shadow Business Secretary, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), should not get used to that.

What an absolute joy it is to see the shadow Business Secretary up close. He must think that amnesia has hit the whole country. I mean, he was the business adviser to Boris Johnson—and we know what expletive Boris Johnson used when referring to business, don’t we? Did the shadow Business Secretary resign as a Minister when all the others were resigning, though? Oh no, he lashed himself to the Boris Johnson mast until the very end. In February of last year, still he was calling for the return of Johnson.

But that is not all, is it? When it came to the lettuce-defying catastrophe known as the Liz Truss premiership, the shadow Business Secretary was not just a casual supporter; he was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. He actually helped to put together that disastrous Budget. He was not just in the room when it happened, to quote “Hamilton”; he held the pen! He was Kwasi’s amanuensis; he was Truss’s handmaiden. This is a man who could not see the writing on the wall even if it were spitting out fire 50 metres high. Even when the Bank of England had been forced to act to shore up the economy following the mini-Budget, he went out to defend it.

[Graham Stuart]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wonder whether you have any advice for those in the hospitality industry listening to the Minister, who is so afraid to deal with the issue at hand that he has to resort to this ad hominem attack on our Front-Bench colleague.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order, and perhaps encourage all Members to ensure that they stay on topic and in scope this afternoon?

[Chris Bryant]

They don’t like it up ’em, do they, Madam Deputy Speaker?

The shadow Business Secretary then said,

“We think they’re the right plans because those plans make our economy competitive.”

The problem with the argument that he has made today is that he has not learned a single thing since that mini-Budget. He still wants us to tax less and spend more at the same time. Yes, of course he wants to reverse the national insurance increase, but does he point to where the money should come from? No, of course he doesn’t. He likes the additional spending on the NHS, he approves of our spending on prisons, he supports more spending on policing, and he clamours for more spending on defence—and, no doubt, on trains, telecoms, universities and schools—but he does not want to pay for it, which is why it is as plain as a pikestaff that he has not changed a bit. He would re-run the Truss mini-Budget in the twinkling of an eye. It was doolally economics when Truss introduced it and it is doolally economics today. I give you, Madam Deputy Speaker, the Minister for doolally economics. Let me deal with two specific points that he made.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I will make a couple of points; then of course I will give way to the Father of the House.

The shadow Business Secretary condemned what he calls the reduction in retail hospitality and leisure business rates relief from 75% to 40% for 2025-26. Does the House note the sleight of hand there? When the Conservatives left office, they had no plans to extend the business rates relief beyond the financial year, and hospitality was facing a complete cliff edge, going from 75% relief to zero relief—so I am proud that our Chancellor introduced the 40% relief. I am also proud that the Government are creating a fairer business rates system that will protect the high street, support investment and is fit for the 21st century. The Conservatives had 14 years to do that. Did they bring in any amendment that would have improved the situation for hospitality? Nary a one.

We recognise the vital role that hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth and strengthening economic cohesion across the country. That is why from 2026-27, this Government intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values of less than £500,000. That is a permanent tax cut to ensure that hospitality benefits from much-needed certainty and support.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

This is all good, amusing, knockabout stuff—nothing wrong with that—but will the Minister say a few words of comfort to the small family businesses that are closing all over the country and about whether, as the Minister with responsibility for hospitality, he is making representations to the Chancellor to relieve some of those small businesses from such taxes in the Budget?

[Chris Bryant]

I will be very straightforward with the right hon. Gentleman: of course we recognise the problems that small businesses are having—I have heard from many—and I am about to come to the issue of national insurance contributions, which I accept, of course, have provided difficulties to many different businesses. However, it is all very well everyone campaigning against the tax, but if they are not prepared to say where the billions are to come from otherwise, then they will the ends but they do not will the means.

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

Last week, saw the opening of West Bromwich’s brand-new indoor market and the return of the much-loved Firkins bakery. People were queuing from 7 am for the famous lemon iced buns that Firkins has sold for many years. Does the Minister agree that food and hospitality are at the heart of our high streets, would he like to come to taste one of those iced buns, and does he agree that that is what we can achieve when Labour Governments work with Labour councils and communities?

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Bryant]

I am more of a Chelsea bun person than an iced bun person, but my hon. Friend makes a good point: there are businesses up and down the country opening anew and afresh. Far from such businesses dismissing the opportunity of having a national health service that works more effectively, a rail service that works effectively and a secure set of working rights for people; they welcome that provision, and they want people to have a proper wage when in work because they know that motivates their staff better.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Talking of businesses opening, in my constituency of Harlow we have just welcomed a new branch of IKEA. It is the first business in my constituency that has spoken to me about the Employment Rights Bill; it is really excited about it and wants us to hurry up and get on with it—[Interruption.] It is no wonder that IKEA employees across the country are very happy in their jobs, are loyal to their jobs and like working for that company.

[Chris Bryant]

I agree. I note that an awful lot of Conservative MPs are saying, “Oh, they’re Swedish”, as if foreign investment in the UK were a bad idea. [Interruption.] Yes, that is what they were doing—they can furrow their brows as much as they want.

The shadow Secretary of State pointed to the increases in employer national insurance contributions. Yes, of course the Government have taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, to fund public services and to restore economic stability after the situation that we inherited from the previous Administration, but I have to point out to the hon. Gentleman—because he does not seem to understand the facts—that the hospitality sector is made up predominantly of smaller businesses, and we took decisive steps to protect the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase in employer national insurance by increasing the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. That means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer national insurance contributions at all this year and that more than half of all employers will either gain or see no change. Employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the national living wage without paying a penny of employer national insurance contributions.

[Mr Quigley]

Unlike most, if not all, of the Conservative Members listed on the Order Paper as supporters of the motion, my wife and I own two successful hospitality businesses. We welcome the increase in national insurance contributions and the improvements in workers’ rights because they are good for our employees, our businesses and our customers. Does the Minister agree that the Tories only know how to race to the bottom and not how to give workers a leg up?

[Chris Bryant]

I passionately support what we have done about the national minimum wage. I remember when we had to sit through the night in this Chamber to ensure that the national minimum wage was introduced in the first place; incidentally, I remember that the Liberal Democrats voted against that, as well as the Conservatives. We want people who work for a decent number of hours every week to be able to put food on the table, pay a mortgage and give their children the opportunities in life that they may not have been able to achieve. That is why it is important that in this sector, perhaps above all other sectors, we ensure that people are properly paid.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)]

UKHospitality says:

“At a time when the country needs jobs, the Government should be encouraging hospitality to grow and create jobs, not tax them out of existence.”

Is it right or wrong?

[Chris Bryant]

We are not taxing them out of existence, as I have tried to explain to the hon. Gentleman. He is another one of those people who is awfully nice when you meet him in the bar—[Interruption.] The shadow Secretary of State is saying that that sounds terrible, but he was saying earlier that every single pint that is pulled represents an increase to the economy, so the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti) helped out. The point that I am trying to make—not very well—is that it is impossible to simply say, “We are not going to tax,” and still want to see the same level of expenditure. That is what got us into the trouble in the Truss Budget, and for family finances that meant—

[Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) (Con)]

On that point, will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I will not give way again. That meant that mortgage rates rose faster than they have ever risen in our history, which made it almost impossible for people to survive economically.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

The Minister is an entirely charming chap and a great entertainer—I worry that his Equity card might be getting out of date. He praises the changes that have been made to the employment conditions of bar staff, for example, but does he really think that it is a good idea to have them policing the comments of people who use public houses, when it takes as many as five members of the constabulary to arrest a comedian over inappropriate tweets?

[Chris Bryant]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly legitimate point. No, of course I do not want that. I want the police officers in my constituency to be policing the streets, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said this morning, not policing tweets or private conversations between individuals—[Interruption.] I have made my point. The police in my constituency, where, incidentally, we lost large numbers of police officers during the time that the Conservative Government were in office, are hard pressed enough to deal with the problems they have without trying to take on ludicrous and preposterous elements as well.

My biggest complaint about the speech made by the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs is that he is so determined to do down the Government that he ends up dragging down the sector as well. The honest truth is that the UK hospitality sector is absolutely amazing. Whether it is the Lake district, the night life in Manchester and London, the gastropubs in the Cotswolds, the movie locations up and down the land, the Royal Oaks, the White Harts, the Red Lions, the Prospect of Whitbys, the Moon Under Waters, the Eagle and Childs, Bamburgh castle, Chester zoo, which I loved visiting last week to feed the giraffes, the British Museum, all the V&As and the Tates, Windsor castle—the pub and the castle—Stratford-upon-Avon—

[Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)]

rose—

[Chris Bryant]

Whether it is St Mary Redcliffe, Canterbury cathedral, the O2 or the Stadium of Light, we should celebrate every single part of our hospitality industry across the whole of the UK and be proud that we are British.

[Manuela Perteghella]

Does the Minister agree that in Stratford-upon-Avon, hospitality is not just an industry, but the lifeblood of our visitor economy? Every pub, café or restaurant closure is a blow not only to jobs, but to our high street and our community’s sense of place.

[Chris Bryant]

Yes, and I would add another point to that. In Stratford-upon-Avon, as in many other parts of the United Kingdom, the hospitality industry, the tourism industry and the creative industries are intrinsically bound together. A number of people will go to the theatre, stay in a hotel, go to the Lazy Duck or one of the other pubs—apparently other pubs are available in Stratford-upon-Avon—and go to the most visited church in England, which is in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is a multifarious concoction of different industries that fit together, which is why we need to try to foster all of them so that they can all flourish together. The hon. Lady makes a very good point.

One of the arguments I have been trying to make is that as much as I love Stratford-upon-Avon—which, incidentally, is very difficult to get to by train; that is one of the things I would dearly love for us to sort out—a lot of international tourists come only to London and the south-east and perhaps to Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford and Edinburgh. I want them to see the whole diversity of the hospitality industry and the tourism sector across the whole of the United Kingdom.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Chris Bryant]

I was looking in the direction of the right hon. Gentleman, so I think I will have to take his intervention first. I will then take an intervention from my hon. Friend.

[Mr Carmichael]

I think the Minister may need to add a few more island venues to his travel itinerary in the future. May I take him back to the question of tax? He is right to say that if we will a reduction in tax, we should look for a reduction in expenditure, but it does not always work like that. When we cut the rate of duty on spirits, we did it with the expectation of a loss of £600 million, but it actually brought an increase of £800 million. That can sometimes happen. For years, the UK hospitality sector has been asking for a reduced rate of VAT on its services, and that would be sector specific. It has given evidence, backed by some of the biggest consultancies in the area, that that would in fact bring an increased tax take. Will the Minister make that point to the Treasury?

[Chris Bryant]

At nearly every meeting that I have with any sector in my portfolio, the sector says to me, “Can we have a cut in VAT?” While people in the hospitality sector have said to me many times that they would like a cut in VAT, that is also said by people in the theatre industry and a whole series of others. These are matters for the Chancellor, not for me, as the right hon. Gentleman well knows.

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about islands. We are an island nation, and we should embrace that as part of our tourism and hospitality industry across the whole of the UK. Specific challenges arise for coastal areas and islands, and I hope we will be able to address those when we come to produce our tourism strategy later this year.

I will take an intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran), then I hope to make some progress.

[Uma Kumaran]

We have been talking about Stratford, but I am waiting to hear about Stratford and Bow in London, where I am really pleased that the Government are backing our bid for the 2029 world athletics championship. My constituency, like so many others, thrives when more tourists and visitors come from across the UK and overseas, but we want to see that spread across every region in the country. The Minister is developing a visitor economy growth strategy. Will he set out how it will spread tourism beyond London so that all the other regions can thrive as well?

[Chris Bryant]

One of the first things I did when I became the Minister was to set an ambitious target of reaching 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030; we are at something like 43 million visitors at the moment. If we are going to get to that target of 50 million visitors, we will have to ensure that we have the mix of accommodation across the whole United Kingdom. That poses some challenges around how we deal with short-term lets to ensure that there is more of an even playing field and that coastal areas and areas that are heavily dependent on tourism do not end up being completely denuded when the tourists go away at the end of the season. We need to do more to extend the season so that it is not just the summer months. We can do a whole series of things to ensure that that happens, but this is not just about international visitors.

When an international visitor comes to the UK, they bring dollars, euros, yen or whatever it may be to the UK. That is a net gain to our economy, but I argue that when a domestic visitor decides, “You know what? I’m not going to go to Spain this year, because I know that there is so much here,” they will then stay in the UK, and that is a net gain for us as well. Frankly, there is also a climate in the summer in the UK that is rather more agreeable for human beings nowadays. We need to explore all those different elements.

My hon. Friend referred to the east end of London. Of course, quite a lot of sporting events happen in the east end of London, and sport is just as much of an intrinsic part of why people come to this country. The number of international visitors who come to the UK solely for a premiership match is very large, but the number of people who went to the theatre last year in the UK is double the number who went to a premiership match, so we need to get the whole of this sector moving as much as we possibly can. We need to make sure that there is investment in the right parts of the sector, and that that investment takes place across the whole of the United Kingdom.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Will the Minister give way on that point, very quickly?

[Chris Bryant]

It will not be quick—I know it will not, least of all my answer—but anyway.

[Dr Evans]

Wales has introduced a tourism tax, or is planning to do so. In light of what we are talking about today, can the Minister rule out the UK introducing a tourism tax in the upcoming Budget?

[Chris Bryant]

I am not going to do the Chancellor’s job, but we have no plans to introduce a tourism tax. Of course we are looking at different places in the country that have gone forward in different ways—Manchester, for instance, has a system that has been voluntarily agreed, and there is the situation in Scotland and in Wales, which the hon. Gentleman referred to. We want to look at how all of that progresses, but many people in the sector have made the point to me that they feel taxed enough. I do not know that we would want to add any more to that.

As I say, there is a job of work to be done on short-term lets, because it seems intrinsically unfair for somebody who is effectively providing hotel-like accommodation to not be subject to any of the same rules, or the same taxation, that a hotel—even a small hotel—would be. That is one of the areas in which we want to take forward the work that was done by the previous Government.

[Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)]

rose—

[Chris Bryant]

Every time I deal with something, another person stands up, but we have not had anybody from the SNP intervene yet.

[Chris Law]

Apart from my hon. Friend the Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter). I thank the Minister for highlighting the V&A museums, one of which is in my city of Dundee, which has numerous hospitality businesses. Scotland makes a £9 billion contribution to the UK Exchequer through hospitality, and 200,000 jobs depend on it. There are consequences from the national insurance contribution rises; for example, just this year, one third of venues in Scotland have reduced their staff numbers and almost one fifth have shortened their opening hours, which means fewer jobs, less income tax and less tax from profits.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Bryant]

I have just binned that bit of the speech, Madam Deputy Speaker.

When the Government took office, the sector was already under strain. The aftermath of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis left hospitality and tourism businesses facing real difficulties. In particular, domestic tourism had struggled to get back to pre-pandemic numbers, which is still the case in many parts of the country. We inherited a very distressed sector, but we have acted quickly and decisively to stabilise it, supporting jobs and laying the foundations for growth.

We continue our work to get people into jobs, in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions. The sector-based work academy programmes have seen nearly 10,000 starts in hospitality over less than two years, and we have extended the destination hospitality SWAPs to 26 areas across England, which aim to specifically help jobseekers gain the skills and experience needed to enter employment in hospitality and tourism. The one area in which I agree with the shadow Minister is that this is a unique sector in one sense: that a person can go from having no skills, no qualifications and no experience to being a skilled worker in the sector within six to nine months. That is absolutely transformational for many people, and I want to make sure that more young people in this country do not think of it just as a job, but as a career. Representatives of the sector have repeatedly told me that there is a skills shortage, particularly of people who are five or 10 years into the sector. We want more people to stay, because nearly every chief executive you meet in the sector is somebody who started on the shop floor—pulling pints, working as a barista, changing beds or something like that. For us as a Labour Government, this sector is essential to social mobility.

In July, the Government set out our plan for small businesses, which is the most comprehensive package of support for small and medium-sized businesses in a generation and will be transformational for the sector. We are slashing red tape to overhaul planning and licensing rules, making it quicker and easier for new cafés, bars and music venues to open in place of disused shops, and we are increasing access to finance for entrepreneurs through a massive £4 billion finance boost. We are ending the scourge of late payments, which cost the UK economy £11 billion annually and close 38 businesses daily. That is another issue that is repeatedly raised with me.

We are not complacent at all about the sector. We want to get 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030. As was mentioned earlier, we are preparing to publish a visitor economy growth strategy later this year. It will set out how the UK can capitalise on global opportunities, increase investments and strengthen the long-term resilience of the sector.

The hospitality and tourism sectors are the beating heart of our towns, cities and rural economies, as the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) said. They are vital to our high streets. They provide jobs and skills for young people, entry routes into work for those who might otherwise be excluded from work, and vital social spaces that bind our communities together. This Government will continue to back them with action, not rhetoric. Finally, I encourage every single Member of the House to find a business in the sector—not in their constituency, but in somebody else’s—that they can boost this weekend.

--- Later in debate ---

[Charlie Dewhirst]

It is not for me to say whether the Minister will or will not, but he should do so, and he should be shouting much more loudly on behalf of the hospitality sector.

[Chris Bryant]

I am always happy to make representations to the Chancellor on lots of different things, but I have no intention of sharing them with the House.

[Charlie Dewhirst]

There we go. Let us hope the Chancellor listens this time.

Another point, which was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), was on the tourism tax in Wales. This has caused significant concern in my coastal communities of Bridlington, Hornsea and the other coastal villages. As the Minister said, the tourism industry is already heavily taxed and people are already feeling the pressure. We certainly do not want to see any sort of tourism tax expanded from Wales into the wider United Kingdom.

It really is not possible for these businesses to continue in the current climate. As we have heard, over a third are unable to make a profit in the hospitality industry and yet our local pubs are the lifeblood of our communities. They are so important. We saw that during covid, when we were not able to go to the pub and the impact that had on communities for people to be able to mix, particularly those who live alone whose social contact is perhaps limited to visiting friends for a pint after work in the evening.