Scottish Budget is a bitter pill to swallow for Scottish hospitality – but there is a ray of hope - Stehen Montgomery

Scottish hospitality is in crisis. Across Scotland, our best-loved pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels face a desperate battle for survival.

Our businesses are struggling to overcome the unprecedented challenge of rising costs, inflation, a hike in the National Living Wage, and the legacy of the pandemic.

Ahead of the Scottish Budget, the key ask of Scottish hospitality was to provide emergency support to help us navigate these challenges. In short, we needed Shona Robison to step up and help ‘Save Scottish Hospitality’.

Unfortunately, this Scottish Budget offers no new support to Scottish hospitality and fails to recognise the scale of the challenge for a third year, leaving the sector feeling undervalued.

Inside Glasgow's oldest pub. Picture: John Devlin

There are some measures to welcome, such as the 100 per cent rates relief for hospitality businesses on the islands, and the continuation of the Small Business Bonus Scheme. This will benefit some – but not all – Scottish hospitality businesses. A freeze in the business rates poundage only serves to protect the big corporates and retailer, but does very little for small and medium-sized hospitality venues in our villages and towns. It leaves many of our hospitality businesses standing alone, and facing impossible choices.

Hospitality needed an urgent package of support – much more than a simple poundage freeze – to survive. The very real implication is that many Scottish hospitality businesses will struggle to keep going, and customers will see prices increase.

This will be a bitter pill to swallow for thousands of Scottish hospitality businesses. Next year, every English hospitality business will benefit from at least a 75 per cent business rates discount for a second consecutive year. It means that whilst a restaurant in Dumfries and Galloway could face an eye-watering hike in their tax bill next year, a restaurant just a mile over the border in England will have some much-needed breathing space. Our attention will now be focused on helping those hospitality businesses survive what will be a very challenging year to come.

However, there is a ray of hope in an otherwise disappointing day for Scottish hospitality. It may have come across as word soup, but the Scottish Government made a very important and welcome commitment to exploring a long-term, fairer deal for hospitality on the methodology used for business rates valuation. If done right, this could mean a permanent reduction in the level of business rates that cripples our businesses.

It is a golden opportunity to deliver a fairer deal for Scottish hospitality once and for all. Over the next year, the details will be worked out in the Government’s New Deal for Business Group. Hospitality businesses have been engaged in the New Deal for Business for a number of months and we will continue to work constructively to win a fairer deal for Scottish hospitality.

But it is time that the Scottish Government's actions matched their words on improving the situation for business in Scotland. Across the world, Scotland is renowned for the quality of its hospitality and this is an unmissable opportunity to make sure that our sector is supported to thrive again. The finance secretary has committed to introducing a long-term, fairer deal for Scottish hospitality at next year's Budget. We will hold her feet to the fire to make sure she delivers on this promise.

- Stephen Montgomery is the director of the Scottish Hospitality Group