Government to cut business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues

Government to cut business rates for pubs, clubs and music venuesImage source, Getty ImagesByHenry Zeffman, Chief political correspondent and Archie Mitchell, Business reporterPublishedJust nowPubs, clubs and live music venues in England will be given a 20% cut to business rates from April, which the government estimates will save firms around £1,100 next year.In his third policy announcement since becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham said: "For too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets."The cut will cost £100m and will be funded by a review of tax relief on firms such as vape shops which "do not make a positive contribution to local communities", the government said.Hospitality bosses welcomed the support, but some pub owners said the package would not go far enough to offset the impact of cost increases elsewhere.The 20% business rates discount will not apply to the "very largest" live music venues. Details about which businesses are eligible will be announced at Chancellor John Healey's first Budget in the autumn.The cut is expected to benefit almost 32,000 venues, the government said.Iain Hoskins, who owns Ma Pub Group in Liverpool, told the BBC the relief would help "chip away" at rising costs but questioned how many venues would benefit.It could be "very meaningful", he said, but "as always, the devil is in the detail".His pubs have previously missed out on government business rates support, and "the increases were so huge last year that now we're sort of chipping away at some of those increases".Under previous chancellor Rachel Reeves, the government said last year it would scale back business rate discounts that had been in force since the pandemic and announced that there would be no discount at all from April this year.That, combined with big upward adjustments to rateable values of pub premises, left landlords with...