LETTER FROM COLIN NEILL CEO HOSPITALITY ULSTER
14 April 2025
UK Budget impact, VAT, Rates, the Surrender Principle - the challenges are endless and so is our fight ...
14th April 2025
I wanted to write to you about how the Hospitality Ulster team has been campaigning on your behalf. Our absolute priority since last October’s Budget has been to rally against the cost changes being levied on the sector.
Through our partnership with UK Hospitality, we have had Northern Ireland’s hospitality businesses represented in meetings with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor, and Secretary of State, impressing upon them the damaging impact these changes will have on hospitality. No other organisation within hospitality has been engaging at these senior levels of Government.
In that time, we have met with NI politicians and UK MPs, securing significant media coverage to highlight the issues we face. Last week alone, we met separately with twenty Labour MPs and the NI Secretary of State, bringing together over 20 local Chambers of Commerce and BIDs to ensure a collective voice and as you would expect, we pulled no punches, calling out the lack of understanding of the NI market and apparent lack of willingness to do anything to support NI hospitality businesses.
I want to say a huge thank you to all of our members. Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do – speaking with one voice makes us so much stronger when calling for positive change for the sector.
While we continue that work with urgency, it is worth mentioning that we have often stopped or altered proposals from Government before they ever reach your desk. Such as the Deposit return Scheme that would have required our pubs, restaurants and hotels to take a deposit from customers every time they purchased a beverage and then refund the deposit when they finished their drink, which would have been simply unmanageable. Thankfully, we have now been successful in having consumption of beverages on premises removed from the scheme.
Or the UK Government’s plan to ban smoking in beer gardens and outdoor areas, which, working in partnership with UK Hospitality, we were able to directly influence No.10 and have it stopped in its tracks.
Likewise, we continue to campaign against proposals in the Department for the Economy’s Employment Rights Bill (Good Jobs Bill). This bill threatens to remove the flexibility of employing casual staff by banning zero-hours contracts, introducing a legal requirement to give Trade Unions a right of access to businesses with more than ten staff, and imposing Sectoral Pay Bargaining, to name but a few of the proposed new laws.
On the key areas of policy where we are campaigning for meaningful change for your business, let me provide you with some examples :
Business Rates
The unfair business rates in Northern Ireland are hard to stomach. Not only do we pay higher poundage than most of the UK, but we have also missed out on support that was given to England.
The relevant monies in the Barnet Consequential went to fund the black hole in the NI health budget. Despite the obvious challenge in arguing against money going to health, we are making some progress in relation to support for small businesses. Thanks to our lobby, we have seen an increase in the number of qualifying businesses. We continue to fight for a fairer rates system for all hospitality businesses and, to that end, we have a meeting with the First and deputy First Minister in the coming weeks.
Hospitality VAT
Following our successful motion in the NI Assembly, which called on all parties to support a reduced rate of Hospitality VAT in Northern Ireland and urged the Finance Minister to lead a joint delegation to meet with the UK Chancellor, we are now engaging with the Department of Finance. With cross-party support gained, we are working to ensure the Minister backs the outcome of the motion and moves forward with us in a joint campaign. Additionally, we have enlisted the support of UK Hospitality to advocate for Northern Ireland to be used as a pilot to demonstrate the financial return to the Government when Hospitality VAT is reduced.
Review of the Licensing and Surrender Principle
With the DfC Report now published, the twenty-six proposals it contains will have significant consequences for all licensed premises, including substantial risks to 5(1)(a) licence holders. The potential removal of the surrender principle could render many businesses insolvent overnight. Recognising the severity of these consequences, Hospitality Ulster has assembled a dedicated team of experts to thoroughly examine the report and will be organising a series of regional meetings to update members in the coming weeks.
This is just a snapshot of the work we are doing on your behalf. As you would expect, we continue to address member issues on an individual and daily basis to ensure your business receives the support it needs.
Members also have exclusive access to guidance, FAQs, and resources covering a wide variety of topics relevant to your business, which I encourage you to explore.
We remain committed to working at pace to represent your views to Government, collaborating with other industry bodies and stakeholders where appropriate to strengthen our collective voice.
Lastly, given the number of you contacting me to ask how our Operations Director, Joel, is doing following his surgery to remove a brain tumour, I thought I would share an update. Joel had his surgery at the end of February, and I am pleased to say he is recovering well, all be it a slow and sometimes difficult journey. The prognosis is good, and we look forward to welcoming him back later this year. Thank you for all the kind messages of support and best wishes that we have passed on to Joel.
If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team.
Yours sincerely
Colin Neill
CEO