Minister promises help for hospitality sector

A LABOUR minister has promised action to help Tyneside’s struggling hospitality sector, after a spate of pub and bar closures.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Patrons have been left disappointed over recent months by the loss of several popular Newcastle venues - including the likes of Prohibition, Leila Lily's, The Earl of Pitt Street and Horticulture.

Industry bosses have repeatedly warned that small businesses are being hit by crippling costs as a result of increases to employers’ national insurance contributions and the minimum wage introduced by the Government, alongside energy costs and rent hikes.

Nearly 50,000 UK companies are now in “critical” financial distress, according to a report published this week, with Begbies Traynor warning that many independent pubs will not survive the next 12 months without more support.

Amid lingering concern for the raft of independent traders who are central to the city’s character, small business minister Gareth Thomas pledged to cut “red tape” in the licensing process and cut business rates.