‘Tax break tarts’: hospitality set to exploit Reeves’ summer VAT cut on kids’ meals

Restaurants and pubs are expected to devise “enterprising” schemes to exploit a tax break on meals for under-18s, after one venue launched a menu for “kids” featuring wild burgundy snail salad and anchovy butter toast.

- Rob Davies

Rachel Reeves last month announced a temporary cut in VAT on children’s meals from 20% to 5% between 25 June and 1 September, as part of a “Great British summer savings scheme” to support struggling venues and ease pressure on families.

The chancellor highlighted the scheme during an appearance by video at last week’s UKHospitality trade conference that met with a muted reception.

Afterwards, leading figures in the hospitality sector added their voices to a chorus of ridicule for the “laughable” scheme, contrasting it with the £5bn in extra costs loaded onto pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants since Labour returned to power in 2024.

Chris Jowsey, the chief executive of the 1,300-strong pubs chain Admiral Taverns, called the scheme a “joke”, saying the resulting discount was “so small it’s embarrassing” and that it would not help pubs that do not serve food.