The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25% in response to higher than expected UK inflation and signs that Britain’s economy is holding up better than feared.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls responded to the news, “The staggering rises in energy, food and drink costs, in particular, over the past year have given hospitality businesses stark choices over whether to pass these costs through to consumers, in order to survive.
'Unfortunately, as highlighted in yesterday’s ONS figures, this is a contributing factor to the rate of inflation increasing once again.'
Kate continued, “Tackling these main drivers of inflations would fix the source of the inflation problem and enable venues to keep prices lower for consumers, stem the rate of inflation and reduce the need for further interest rate rises.
“With energy supporting fading to almost nothing in April and bills set to increase by over 80%, it is inevitable that price rises will follow. There is still time to avoid that by offering hospitality businesses an enhanced rate of support, as well as taking concrete action to penalise some unscrupulous energy suppliers.”
