A Spring Statement Without Substance: Hospitality’s Growing Discontent with the Chancellor

The hospitality sector has responded with disappointment and mounting concern to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Spring Statement, describing it as a missed opportunity to address the financial burden threatening to engulf restaurants, pubs, hotels and caterers from April.

Trade bodies, including UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), and the Scottish Hospitality Group, have issued stark warnings about the Chancellor’s failure to acknowledge or act upon the specific challenges facing one of the UK’s largest private-sector employers.

From 1 April, the sector will face a ‘tax cliff edge’—a £3.4 billion annual blow due to higher National Insurance Contributions (NICs), an increase in the National Minimum Wage, and a significant reduction in business rates relief from 75% to 40%. Despite widespread calls for intervention, none of these measures were addressed or softened in the Chancellor’s half-hour statement.

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, was unequivocal in her assessment. “Growth won’t just happen without a plan,” she said. “Today’s statement was yet another missed opportunity to avoid an April cliff edge.” She warned that unless urgent action is taken, these combined pressures will stifle recruitment, reduce staff hours and lead to job losses—outcomes that directly undermine the Government’s stated aim of getting people back into work.

Nicholls called for deferring the rise of employer NIC and developing a strategic plan that unlocks growth, particularly in economically vulnerable regions. She argued that hospitality, part of the UK’s foundation economy, has consistently demonstrated its potential to support recovery, citing its role following the 2008 financial crash and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BBPA echoed these concerns, highlighting a projected additional cost to the sector of £70 million per month—equivalent to 5,700 jobs. “The Government has buried brewers and pubs under mountains of regulations, rates and taxes,” said Emma McClarkin, BBPA Chief Executive. “The Spring Statement was the perfect chance to sow the seeds of growth, but the Government missed the opportunity, has not listened to business, and we can now expect to see prices rise, jobs at risk and growth downgraded.”

A more personal perspective came from Mark Chambers, Managing Director of the Eden Hotel Collection, which employs 450 staff across five boutique hotels. He revealed that the Autumn Budget measures alone will cost the business an additional £900,000 annually. While the company has opted not to pass these costs on to customers for now, he warned that many others will be unable to absorb such financial hits, putting further pressure on consumer spending and sector growth.

Notably absent from the Chancellor’s speech was any direct mention of the hospitality industry, an omission that Stephen Montgomery of the Scottish Hospitality Group described as “glaring”. “The Chancellor’s statement has done nothing to allay the danger of job losses and closures across the nation’s pubs, hotels, and restaurants,” he said. “The sector is increasingly losing confidence in the Chancellor of the Exchequer – it will only be regained if she finally listens, acts and helps the hospitality industry to grow and thrive.”

Beyond hospitality, the Spring Statement’s economic backdrop was cautious optimism tempered by real-world constraints. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded growth forecasts for this year from 2% to 1%, with inflation also expected to average higher than previously forecast at 3.2%. While future growth projections have been marginally upgraded, immediate pressures—particularly labour costs, operating expenses and customer affordability—remain unaddressed.

For many business owners, especially in the hospitality sector, the overarching concern is not just the absence of support but the erosion of trust in a Government that appears increasingly disconnected from the realities of life on the high street.

The message from the industry is clear: time is running out. Without swift and meaningful policy adjustments, the April cliff edge may become a tipping point for hundreds of hospitality businesses across the UK. As the sector braces itself, many are left wondering whether the Government truly understands the cost of inaction—not just in economic terms, but in livelihoods, local communities, and long-term recovery.