Support for hospitality businesses

That this House notes with serious concern the cumulative cost pressures facing independent hospitality businesses across the United Kingdom; recognises that the simultaneous impact of rising National Minimum Wage, increased employer National Insurance contributions, rising energy costs, food price volatility, and the reduction of business rates relief is pushing viable, long-established businesses to the brink; acknowledges that these pressures do not exist in isolation but compound one another in ways that make sustainable operation increasingly impossible for small operators; further notes that in Berkhamsted alone, three long-established restaurants have closed in the last four months, with their premises now sitting empty on one of the most vibrant high streets in the country; is deeply troubled that small business owners are being forced to cut staff hours, cancel investment in UK suppliers and manufacturers, remove themselves from payroll, and abandon plans for growth simply to survive; and calls on the Government to work collaboratively with the sector to create conditions in which independent businesses can operate, invest and grow.