Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Hospitality Sector Council is taking steps to help hospitality businesses with the increases in (a) VAT rate, (b) National Income Contributions and (c) the rate of inflation.

The Government published its first-ever Hospitality Strategy in July 2021. The Strategy set out twenty-two commitments to support the sector across a range of policy areas, grouped into three themes: Reopening, Recovery, and Resilience.

This Department launched the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, and BEIS officials and I continue to work with the Council and the sector to deliver the strategy commitments.

The Government engages regularly with hospitality businesses and organisations to understand the pressing issues that they face, including cost pressures and supply chain disruptions.