More than 126,000 meals were claimed in North Oxfordshire under the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, according to the latest statistics. In total, more than 100 million meals were claimed across the UK under the scheme, which ran throughout the month of August. In total, 84,700 establishments signed up to the scheme, including 113 in North Oxfordshire.
I am really pleased with the scheme and can see it has been a major success for the hospitality sector. The scheme was designed to support the hospitality industry after a challenging few months because of coronavirus. The scheme is credited with protecting 1.8 million jobs across the country, with restaurant bookings significantly up on the previous year. Data from OpenTable shows bookings increased by an average of 52 per cent on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the whole of August, compared to the same days in 2019.
Eat Out to Help Out was just one part of the Conservative Government’s Plan for Jobs. This is an ambitious £30 billion strategy to create, protect and support jobs as the country bounces back from coronavirus. The Government will continue to support the hospitality industry with a temporary discount to VAT, from 20 per cent to 5 per cent, until 12 January 2021.
