Plans to ban smoking in pub beer gardens set to be axed: A ban on smoking in outdoor spaces, such as pub beer gardens, could be abandoned. The government is said to be ‘spooked’ by warnings from the hospitality industry that the measure could lead to job losses and pub closures. It has reportedly stepped in to remove the policy from the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is yet to be published, reports The Guardian. The paper reported that No 10 privately believes that banning people from smoking in pub beer gardens is an ‘unserious’ policy that is not backed up by good evidence. They are said to be worried by the fierce opposition from the hospitality trade. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said earlier this week that the long-delayed Bill would be tabled before Christmas. He said: “There’s always those choices and trade-offs about the benefits [to] the public health… and then potential downsides that people raise, either believing that it's too far an encroachment on people’s lives and liberty or that it might impact on businesses.” The proposed addition of a ban on outdoor smoking is said to be behind the delay to publishing the Bill. “It is an unserious policy – nobody really believes smoking outdoors is a major health problem,” one Downing Street official told the paper. Trade body UKHospitality warned that the ban could result in serious economic harm to hospitality venues, while the British Beer and Pub Association said the policy would have a devastating impact on pubs already struggling' with rising costs. A second No 10 official confirmed to the paper it has been blocking the plan as a direct result of such concerns. A Labour source said: “No decision has been taken on pubs and hospitality.”

Stonegate boss warns of ‘widespread’ pub closures unless business rates are addressed: Pubs face widespread closures unless the chancellor announces an extension to business rates relief in next week’s Budget, the UK’s biggest pub company has warned. David McDowall, chief executive of Stonegate Group, said thousands of landlords currently make just 12p of profit for every pint of beer they sell. Help on business rates for the hospitality sector in England and Wales is set to run out in April.  Mr McDowall said that if it is removed, small publicans will see their business rates bill quadruple from April. Along with other costs the businesses are facing, he feared “they don’t have any more to give”. Rates relief was introduced for pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes in 2020 in response to the covid pandemic, and was last November extended until April next year. The measure means companies in England can claim 75% relief on business rates up to £110,000, or 40% for firms in Wales. Mr McDowall told the BBC’s Today programme that the hospitality industry has faced a “barrage” of challenges in recent years. These include recovering from covid as well as high inflation, energy costs in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the effect of the cost of living on customers. “The complete removal of that rate relief would prove very, very costly for pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes up and down the length and breadth of the UK,” he said. Meanwhile, a freeze on alcohol duty is scheduled to end on 1 February next year. McDowall is one of a number of representatives from the hospitality industry who this week signed a letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves asking for relief to be extended. It warned about “the onrushing business rates cliff edge” facing firms 153 days after she delivers the Budget. On Thursday, UKHospitality and the British Retail Consortium said that in the year to March, businesses in these sectors paid nearly £9bn in business rates. This is nearly a third of the total amount of revenue the government raises from business rates. They said that if relief is removed, it would cost hospitality and retail an additional £2.5bn. Earlier this week, UKHospitality also called on the chancellor to stick to Labour’s manifesto pledge to reform business rates. It argued that because its businesses can usually be found in central locations such as high streets, the cost to companies is high. A spokesperson for the Treasury said: “We’re supporting businesses like our well-loved pubs through pledges to make the business rates system fairer, cap corporation tax at 25% and to publish a corporate tax roadmap so that they have some welcome certainty to plan for the future.”

 

Consumer optimism falls in October: Consumers became more despondent in October as anxieties about Rachel Reeves’s first budget next week outweighed optimism over falling inflation falling, according to a survey. GfK’s consumer confidence index, which has been published since the 1970s, slipped by one point to -21 in October from -20 in September, the lowest reading since March. But experts are more upbeat about the health of the economy than consumers, reports The Times. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for UK GDP growth this year sharply to 1.1% from 0.7%. According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics this month, CPI inflation declined to 1.7% in September from 2.2% in the previous month, a three-year low. The larger-than-expected drop amplified expectations that the Bank of England will lower interest rates by 25 basis points at its November and December meetings from 5%. Consumer confidence typically improves as people anticipate more interest rate cuts. The GfK index is closely watched by economists for indications on whether households are poised to increase or decrease spending in the coming months.