Government to Hold Debate for Minister of Hospitality Next Month!
A petition to the Government to hold a debate on the appointment of a new Minister for Hospitality has succeeded. The threshold of 100,000 signatures has been broken and currently stands at over 149,000.
The date and time of the debate in Parliament will take place on Monday 11th January 2021 at 4.30pm.
The news was welcomed by The Chefs’ Forum. Catherine Farinha, said:
“This is excellent news for an industry greatly marred and decimated by the pandemic. There are ministers for sports and arts, but no representation for hospitality in government. It was great to see James Martin and other celebrity chefs backing the petition started by Claire Bosi to give it the final boost it needed to pass the vital threshold of 100,000 signatures. There was an outpouring of support on social media which was great to see.”
The details of the petition, brought by Claire Bosi and backed by senior industry figures, are as follows:
The UK hospitality industry. Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn in activity, resulting in £38bn in taxation. Yet, unlike the Arts or Sports, we do not have a dedicated Minister.
We are asking that a Minister for Hospitality be created for the current, and successive governments.
A dedicated Minister would liaise with industry representatives. We believe such a Minister would have been beneficial to Government & Industry during the pandemic.
As the UK seeks to encourage investment & tourism back to the UK in coming years, the vision that UK hospitality industry portrays of the UK is excellence, innovation, inspiration.
We need a Minister who can listen to concerns on taxation & legislation and bring forward suggestions to the chancellor and policy makers on our behalf.
Please add your signature to this important petition. The more the better.
