Farmer calls minimum wage rise 'massive blow' to his cafe and hospitality business

A Worcester farmer has said the 3.9% minimum wage increase announced in the Budget would be a "massive blow" to businesses like his, describing the package as "a lot of tinkering and gimmicks".

Tristan Bennett, of Bennetts Farms, runs a dairy farm alongside a glamping site and a cafe. He told BBC Hereford and Worcester he was "disappointed there was not anything substantial" in the Budget, which the Chancellor confirmed in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The Chancellor said the measures were designed to ease the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis by offering people "breathing space".

"That's going to have a massive blow, especially for the cafe side and hospitality, and a lot of the young people," Bennett said.

He added that the farm was trying to take on apprentices but was "finding it so hard now to make it pay".

Rate relief helps 'a little bit'

Bennett said raising the small business rate relief threshold from £12,000 to £18,000 would help the glamping side of the business "a little bit".

His bigger disappointment was the absence of any relief or reduction in VAT for businesses such as his. "They did it for the pubs," he said. "We were hoping they would have been able to help the rest of the hospitality industry but sadly not."

He said he was "nonplussed" by the Budget and questioned why Labour "have not done anything with such a big majority".

"It just seems to be such a mess with things that need sorting out," he said. "If you can't do it with that thumping majority, how else can you do it? I'm just completely despondent, really, about the political class and what they're failing to achieve."

Bookshop owner awaits rates challenge

Rachel Buchanan, co-owner of Elderwood Books in Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire, said she was currently challenging the business rate valuation of her premises. Her rate is more than £18,000, and she said a successful challenge that brought her below that figure would be a "relief".

"We're in an area subject to flooding. Tourists come or don't come, so if we have a quiet week in the winter, those business rates still have to be paid," she said. "Having a much lower, or preferably zero, bill would make a massive difference."

She said a reduction in VAT was a "lovely dream" but she had not expected it to feature in a Budget she described as "tinkering around the edges".

"I didn't expect any big changes," she added, "and here we are back to being reliant on ourselves and making sure we have customers coming through the door to pay those bills."

Source: BBC Business.