Culture, hospitality, and NTE leaders react to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget statement

Lyle Bignon, NTE Ambassador for Birmingham (NTIA):

“The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget statement appears to be an act of wilful vandalism as far as the UK’s fifth-biggest industry, the Night Time Economy, is concerned.

“Rather than delivering the change, renewal, and investment promised, Rachel Reeves has instead directly snubbed small and medium-sized businesses working in culture, hospitality, and the NTE across the country.

“As we saw from Starmer’s speech in Birmingham earlier this week, today’s announcement and the Cabinet’s failure to engage with the NTE in any meaningful way to date, we can only assume that the Government is intentionally ignoring our plight.

“A penny off our pints and move to a 40% business rate relief from 75% is tokenistic at best, and offensive at worst.

“The irony of the PM enjoying hospitality at our arenas and stadiums yet ignoring calls from the industry has not been lost on us.

“We do, of course, welcome more support for workers via the increase of the national minimum wage, reforms to the Carer’s Allowance, and basic pension changes.This suggests the potential for more disposable income across the country.

“However, without any significant interventions or significant investment to offset the 15% hike in Employers National Insurance contributions and other financial squeezes – today’s Budget essentially condemns our SMEs to a slow and painful death.”

“A future where thousands of passengers carried from London Euston to Birmingham Cursor Street daily via HS2, yet met with a hugely reduced culture, hospitality and NTE offer on arrival, is simply unimaginable.

“Closer to home here in the West Midlands, if our recently elected regional mayor has not, or will not, advocate to the Chancellor on our behalf, particularly through Local Growth Plans and integrated funding, the region’s culture, hospitality and NTE industries face no choice other than to withdraw its support.”

Lawrence Barton DL – NTE Advisor (Birmingham City Council), venue operator, and festival director 

“Today’s budget speech represents a major blow to our industry. 

“After one of the toughest years in business, this budget further deepens the strife.

“The real financial impact of the decisions made including employers NI and only 40% relief on rates, with the increase to National Minimum Wage, will increase my annual costs by around 150k per annum.

“The sector is already on its knees – I fear what the future holds.”

Dr Steven McCabe – political economist 

“Starmer’s visit to Birmingham on Monday explaining that his government will create financial order by stabilising the economy, fix the foundations and restore hope that the future will be better was a prelude to today’s budget.

“Any optimism that he might indicate additional financial assistance would be forthcoming for Birmingham – a city whose council declared itself bankrupt just over a year ago – was misplaced.

“Given he was introduced by Richard Parker, who became Mayor of the West Midlands in May, there was hope the PM would make a significant announcement for Birmingham and the West Midlands.

“Apart from a passing referring to £500m of new investment in battery storage locally, there was nothing.

“Birmingham, undergoing painful transition from a city of manufacturing to services could do with a helping hand at present.

“That the minimum wage will increase will assist those working in hospitality and the nighttime economy.

“Pubs, restaurants and clubs have been under intense pressure since the pandemic and closures are all too frequent.

“Culture is a crucial feature of any region and today’s budget suggests it’s still seen as something of a ‘Cinderella’ sector that will survive on its ingenuity and ability to create new opportunities.

“Unfortunately, as those at the sharp end will attest, like the mythical character, it needs love and care to allow it to flourish.

“More investment is needed ensuring more well-paid jobs with long-term prospects to allow people to go out to eat and drink.

“Rachel Reeves’ announcements today offered no fairytale ending for hospitality and the nighttime economy generally and here in Birmingham in particular.”

Nick Summers, Managing Director of NCASS 

“Today’s budget is deeply disappointing. 

“It missed the opportunity to the provide the support that hospitality and NTE needs and will significantly impact the small and micro independent businesses that make up much of the foundational economy.

These businesses continue to tackle multiple challenges day in day out.

“The measures put in place to support employees and employment allowance are positive.

“However, there has been no tax reform and business rates relief has decreased by 35%. 

“In addition, increases to the National Living Wage, National Minimum Wage and employers National Insurance contributions could further damage any recovery for our industry.

“In short, there is no clear return to profitability on the horizon and more businesses will close if there is nothing to balance the measures set out today. 

“Solutions such as hot food tax reform ( which we believe to be discriminatory), a sliding scale for VAT and a meaningful VAT threshold increase has been ignored again. 

“The Chancellor must engage with small and micro businesses urgently to avoid further irrecoverable loss.”

Peter Connolly, publican and founder-director of Nortons Digbeth in Birmingham

“In all, a very disappointing budget for small businesses, hospitality and the high street. 

“While industry voices have been ambitiously lobbying for a VAT reduction for hospitality, those of us who were more pessimistic had focused our concerns on the reduction in business rates relief. 

“What the chancellor has offered today is better than the “cliff-edge” of business rate relief being removed altogether, moving from a 75% reduction to a 40% reduction represents a very sharp increase in rates payable for small and independent businesses like ours. 

There’s no confirmation on what the “permanently lower business rates” are from 2026-2027 for the hospitality businesses fortunate enough to survive until then.

“For us, moving from 25% to 60% rates payable represents a cost of over £20,000 to find very quickly at a time when our customers – the public – have little to no disposable income as it is. 

“We welcome an increase in the national living wage. 

“As a Living Wage Foundation employer we have been paying all of our employees £12 per hour for the last year. 

“So we commend the government for increasing the minimum wage, however unless the public start to feel a material change in their disposable income, it will be a difficult decision to make for us as a business between increasing prices at the bar, or making savings elsewhere.

That could be through reducing our opening hours, or our spending on live music, entertainment and cultural events – music and culture being something that was also disappointingly missing from this budget.”