Source: Sharecast
Changes to business rates were first announced in November’s Budget. Covid-era discounts were to be withdrawn alongside property re-evaluations.
The Treasury ringfenced a £4.3bn fund to help pubs transition back to higher rates.
However, hospitality groups argued that even with that support, the changes would hit the already under-pressure pubs sector the hardest.
As a result, the government has now pledged to review its plans.
Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday morning, Rachel Reeves insisted the temporary financial relief granted to the hospitality sector during the pandemic still needed to be unwound.
But she added: “It’s about the speed at which you do that.”
She said pubs would now receive extra financial support, with a formal announcement due imminently.
Reeves said: “We do recognise that for some pubs there is still a big increase, and so we’re working pretty intensely at the moment.
“I want to make sure that we get this right.
“These changes are not due to come in for a few more months. So we’re going to get this right.”
There are now also calls, primarily from the opposition MPs and from others in the hospitality sector, to extend financial aid to other struggling businesses.
However, Reeves told the BBC the focus remained on pubs.
The apparent U-turn is one of a series made by government recently, including confirmation, also on Wednesday, that it was rowing back on plans to introduce mandatory digital ID.
