The NFFF calls for the fish and chip industry and wider hospitality sector to contact their local MP

The NFFF has recently met with the Minister for Small Business Gareth Thomas MP, alongside other small businesses, but after four weeks we are yet to hear anything back. We need your help to bring the current situation to the Governement’s attention and hopefully we can try to secure the future for the independent hospitality sector and start the process of providing much needed growth and jobs.

As small business owners we are currently being squeezed by increased costs and having a silent partner in our business who gets 17% (more or less) of our turnover not profits! We can claim very little back as most of our inputs are zero rated. Other trades are allowed to enjoy a margin scheme as only have a VAT liability on the profit margin for that very reason. Since its inception not only has the VAT rate increased but so have many of the other costs we have to cover and this 50 year old tax is not fit for purpose of the hospitality sector. Without urgent change we are going to see many small hospitality businesses fail across all cuisines.

The Government’s Hospitality Sector Couincil has very little input from the takeaway sector and that cannot be right. We feel the Government is not getting the information they need about the sector to make informed decisions so we are asking you to contact your local MP to help raise the issues and help to try and bring about change.

We have created a template letter, we cannot fill it in as we hear the parliamentary system check for dusplicate emails but it is just to get you started. We have included some points you can put in to your email in the post below. Please invite your local MP into your business so we can show them what we do, how important we are to the local communities and the jobs that we provide.

You can find your local MP’s contact details by following the link here too.

Thank you in advance, if you want any help or have any comments then please feel free to fet in touch and please let us know if you are successful.

The NFFF Board

Key Discussion points you can add into your letter or to discuss if you get a response:

Maybe National Fish and Chip Day could be a good day to invite them.

• Total allowable catch for cod in the Barents Sea has been reduced for the last four years and is down from 1,000,000 tonnes to 340,000 tonnes
• Haddock down 11,000 tonnes this year to 130,000t
• Reduction due to a couple of poor year classes of fish so scientists have deemed it necessary to take this action
• Likely to last 2 years with a possible further reduction next year
• We are competing in a global market for this fish and the direct import of fillets to the uk from Russia is subject to an extra 35% Tariff giving retail an advantage.
• We are looking at alternatives but the public tend to want cod and haddock on the whole
• This is just highlighting the underlying issues all of hospitality is facing
• As a sector we are heavily reliant on people and the cost of employing people escalated each year.
• As costs go up we see the operators profits diminishing
• The government still get 20% of the turnover more or less it is the operators who are losing out
• Vat is a 50 years old tax that is no longer viable for the sector.  It was introduced before living wage, holiday pay etc all of which we support but it is now getting to the stage where many businesses cannot survive
• We are calling for reform of the vat system. It needs radical thinking and a brave government to make the changes to help the sector not only survive but thrive
• 98% of all businesses are SMEs and 69% of those are hospitality businesses.
• We are overtaxed at source and if this burden was lighter the money would be picked up further down the taxation system and generate a huge amount of  growth. Without change we are going to stagnate and shrink as a sector as our businesses are being suffocated.
• Highly processed ready meals are out of the scope of VAT and we feel this is something that needs to be addressed.