Pubs get business relief while other firms are ‘out in the cold’

Sam Lamiroy says Burnham’s announcement is a step in the right direction and shows the government is trying to help, but agrees with Nick Smith that “VAT is a real problem”.

A typical pub or restaurant’s turnover can easily be between £500,000 and £1m, meaning a £1,000 saving “doesn’t make much of a difference”, he said.

“The 20% cut in business rates is really just lip service, it doesn’t matter whether we’re alive or not, the real lever to pull is going from 20% to 10%, like in the rest of Europe, with the help of VAT,” he told the BBC.

Lamiroy also said Penzance-based bar and restaurant 45 Queen Street was not considered a “pub” and feared it would not qualify under the terms of the aid package.

And he urged the government to do more to support hospitality businesses, saying, “These are the first jobs for many young people, a gateway to employment.”

“When these places close, it’s not just my business and income, it’s the whole team.”