“Your Local Pubs, Cafes and Restaurants Need You!”

“Your local pubs, cafes and restaurants need you!” says Matt Houldsworth, Hull businessman and initiator of the “Take Out To Help Out” Government Petition which launched today. 

The petition urges the Government to introduce an Eat Out To Help Out style scheme, whereby restaurants in Tier 3 areas will be subsidised up to £10, encouraging diners to order more take away and delivery.

Come Thursday, 38,000 hospitality businesses, employing 540,000 workers will enter Tier 3. 

Despite businesses investing heavily to be COVID-Secure, these restrictions mean they will lose out on their biggest month of trade - according to UK Hospitality, December typically accounts for around 25% of the industry’s profits. 

For already crippled hospitality businesses, who have endured at least 130 days of enforced national lockdowns, this is a fatal blow. 

"Businesses in Tier 3 are already hanging on by a thread, doing a fraction of their normal trade. 

“The industry is crying out for support. Please sign the “Take Out To Help Out” petition. The structure to roll out a scheme like this is already in place. With 100,000 signatures, we’ll guarantee the industry another hearing in Parliament,” says Matt Houldsworth, initiator of the Take Out to Help Out petition and owner of Menu Tile Ltd in Hull.

“Many of us are on furlough or doing it tough. This initiative gives people the means to order an extra takeaway on a weeknight or to include dishes from an independent restaurant in their Christmas spread,” he added. 

In a 26 November 2020 press release, UK Hospitality Chief Kate Nicholls said, “It is now more vital than ever that the Government provides urgent further financial support for this sector. If it does not, we are looking at huge numbers of job losses, businesses permanently closed and the landscape of hospitality in this country fundamentally degraded for the foreseeable future.”

The hard reality for the hospitality industry: 

• The hospitality industry is the country’s 4th biggest employer, with 3.2 million in the workforce. The BBC reports 660,000 of whom are now out of work. This includes around 176,000 young people aged 18-24.

• 38,000 businesses, employing over 540,000 enter Tier 3. These businesses have no option but to provide takeaway or close altogether. Even under a Tier 2 level restriction, 94% of UK hospitality members say their business will be unviable or trading at a loss. 

Sign the petition - https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/561723