Give vital community pubs tax breaks, says report

A think-tank is urging government to give pubs greater support with tax rebates to safeguard the nation’s locals as vital social lifelines.

In a Localis-led report entitled ‘Inn-Valuable: unlocking the socio-economic potential of our nation’s pubs’, the research business also argued that a minister for pubs role be reinstated.

The report authors also make the case for business rates rebates for those pubs which take on socially valuable roles such as food banks or in providing warm spaces for vulnerable people, with a call for a modest £4m cash pot to help 1,000 pubs to diversify at a cost of a mere £4,000 per site.  

According to its data, the pub sector currently delivers 936,000 jobs, generates £28bn in gross value and delivers £15bn in tax revenues to the exchequer every year.

Polling carried out for the report showed 68% of British adults felt that pubs help combat loneliness in their local area. Among pro-community activities supported by local pubs, nearly half (44%) of people were aware of pub events that bring the community together, a quarter (25%) knew of local pubs that supported charitable causes and 17% knew of local pubs that supported vulnerable people in their area.

"Across Britain, pubs have consistently played a pivotal role in knitting communities together and promoting social cohesion," Localis head of research Joe Fyans. "Pubs are the beating heart of many communities, playing multifaceted roles in local daily life. This is why the decline of pubs is cause for great concern. With each closure, both tangible and intangible voids are left behind.

"The lessons are clear: pubs, in all their forms and across all locations, remain integral to British social cohesion as hubs of activity, community and social capital. This makes their presence all the more crucial as community safety nets and beacons of light, offering a lifeline hope for many people looking for a real sense of local belonging."

The numbers don't lie

According to polling undertaken by YouGov for the report, 75% of people felt the impact of pubs to community life to be positive. When asked if pubs are important in bringing people together, more than four-in-five (81%) of British adults agreed they are, with just 14% feeling that they are not.

Pollsters also found that among social uses of pubs in the last three months, more than half of the population (51%) had met a friend in one, while nearly two-in-five (37%) of people had visited the pub to meet up with family, a quarter (25%) had enjoyed Sunday lunch in one and 10% of the public had attended a pub-held birthday party in that time span. 

A key recommendation of the report calls for the re-establishment of a minister for pubs post to co-ordinate a cross-government taskforce responsible for long-term strategy for the British pubs sector and to lead on help with tax and regulation, alongside an emergency fund for energy bill support.  

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