00:00Across the West Midlands, pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels are feeling the squeeze from both sides.
00:07Customers are watching what they spend while businesses are paying more for wages, energy, ingredients and property.
00:15The region's night-time economy supports thousands of jobs, so when venues cut hours, shelve investment or close,
00:23the impact reaches well beyond the bar across local communities.
00:28The difficulty that these businesses or organisations have, of course, is covering their costs.
00:33And the fact is, though, if we come to sort of having a meal, as it were, say, the average
00:37family, two parents and two children,
00:39you know, what are you looking at? Probably sort of, you know, the big end of £100 to go out.
00:43Now, people are sort of cash strapped. People are counting their pennies.
00:46So if people don't go out, these places, of course, are not having the sort of the footfall.
00:51And, of course, if you're not having the footfall, you've got no income.
00:54And, of course, you get into a situation where it's loss-making and that can't be sustained.
00:58The scale of the sector matters here.
01:01The West Midlands Night-Time Economy Commission says around 100,000 people work in nightlife,
01:08with an after-dark economy employing more than 300,000.
01:12Its review identifies rising living costs, staffing pressures, transport and regulation among the challenges facing venues.
01:21National changes have added another layer.
01:25The national living wage rose in April, while employers continue to pay 15% national insurance above the relevant threshold.
01:34Business rates were also reworked from April, with lower permanent multipliers for qualified hospitality properties.
01:42Although, re-evaluation means some operators can still face higher bills.
01:46Pubs and live music venues in England can receive a further 15% rates discount for the current financial year.
01:54The government says the changes provide long-term support and greater certainty.
02:00But, industry body UK Hospitality argues the tax burden remains too high.
02:07It wants VAT in the sector cut to 10%, further reform of business rates and changes to employer national insurance.
02:15For operators across the West Midlands, the equation is increasingly simple.
02:21If customers visit less often, there is less income available to absorb higher fixed costs.
02:27That can mean shorter opening hours, fewer staff, postponed investment or, in the hardest cases, closure.
02:34So, I think it's going to be tough times.
02:36And, of course, we've got a sort of a budget coming up at the end of October.
02:39And I suspect that, you know, we're going to feel the squeeze now.
02:42Of course, that's not to say that sort of John Healy may sort of introduce more sort of measures,
02:46which the hospitality industry is calling for, but particularly a cut in sort of business VAT, or business rates and
02:52VAT, rather.
02:53But, undoubtedly, it's probably going to be sort of small beer compared to sort of the crisis they face in
02:59general.
