Image source, PA Media

The government's initiative to cut business rates for pubs, music venues and clubs in England has been hailed as "fabulous news" by renowned British DJ Fatboy Slim.

The musician, whose real name is Norman Cook, tells Radio 5 Live: "I think that's very forward thinking of the government.

"It makes economic sense because our music business is worth a huge amount to the country and so protecting the lower levels is great."

Cook says he is hopeful that the government is protecting the music industry to preserve it as not only a big business, but also the way in which it connects people and helps make memories.

The DJ is among a number of artists to invest in the Music Venue Properties scheme, a campaign which acquires the freeholds of music venues to secure their futures.

Jamie McIvor
Scotland business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) - which represents pubs, bars, hotels and more - has urged the Scottish government to consider following the UK government and cut business rates on pubs in Scotland.

But chief executive Colin Wilkinson said other measures could also help the sector.

The SLTA has been campaigning for a VAT reduction - a move which would need to be made by the UK government and which would apply across Britain.

He says: "We would like to see the Scottish government supporting the trade in any way it can."

Wilkinson says there are a number of problems with the business rate system in Scotland which he would like to see addressed.

He also believes a VAT reduction could be a big help as it could encourage consumers to spend more and boost the industry.

• Our earlier post has more on the announcement not covering Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

Andy Burnham's latest announcement to cut business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England by 20% from April has received a mixed response from the industry.

The CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association hailed the cut as a "sorely needed discount" for local pubs, while the founder of a soft drinks company and hotel owner Steve Perez said the move "won't make any material difference to any pub".

UK Hospitality and the Night Time Industries Association have both welcomed the scheme, but it doesn't go as far as many in hospitality wanted, as noted by our business editor Simon Jack.

Publicans have also cautiously welcomed the move, with chef Tom Kerridge saying it shows the government is "beginning to listen" and one Liverpool business owner calling for discretion in the way hospitality businesses are categorised.

Image source, Getty Images

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) "warmly welcomes" the announcement, going on to describe the cut as "an encouraging first step".

Mark Davyd, MVT CEO, goes on to say that there are "some issues of implementation of previous reliefs, and we will work with colleagues in government to ensure that all grassroots music venues in England are recognised and eligible".

He also called on devolved governments "to swiftly confirm they will match this much needed support".

"Live music is an ecosystem. We strongly urge the government to reconsider the limit to the eligibility criteria so that all live music spaces of all sizes qualify," Davyd says.

You've been sending us your reaction to the government's announced 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues.

• "Absolutely brilliant idea as long as it’s funded properly, but do the same for ‘essentials’ and non-chain small businesses in the High Street," says K Sims from Chelmsford
• Richard from Swindon says of Labour: "They are not governing, they are writing an election manifesto. Everything they have said is uncosted promises for some time in the future, which will never happen"
• While Richard from Scunthorpe writes in that "encouraging alcohol consumption which is a big cause of violence, aggressive behaviour and and violence towards women and girls is a big no-no for me"
• "It is a tiny step in the right direction," says Kevin from Manchester, but he also says "the government could make a massive step towards helping hospitality and improving the nation's health by cutting VAT"

Got something else to add? Send us your comments.

Are this week’s announcements small beer?published at 11:01 BST

11:01 BST

By Anthony Reuben

The move to cut business rates is the third announcement this week from the government since Andy Burnham was appointed prime minister.

This is what the government estimates that each of them will cost:

• Cutting VAT on household electricity from 5% to 0% from October: £850m
• Capping bus fares in England at £2 from January £454m
• Cutting business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues from April 2027: £100m

So that’s a touch over £1.4bn for three separate measures. To put that into context, cutting 1p off the basic rate of income tax would cost about £8.3bn next year.

Badenoch says that Burnham does not "actually know what he wants to do".

"All we know is that it is going to cost a lot of money," she adds, telling the prime minister that he should rule out tax rises to pay for his "spending spree".

Badenoch says the prime minister acting like he is "still the mayor of Manchester", adding he is now the prime minister and "needs to start acting like it".

Image source, PA Media

We're hearing now from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who is speaking in central London.

In a message directed at Andy Burnham, she says that while she is glad the new prime minister has a sense of humour, she finds herself asking "is that it?" when looking at his plans.

She criticises the PM for announcing £2 bus fares and cuts to energy bills in the face of "tough choices", adding: "Andy Burnham's ambitions for Britain are too small."

Badenoch continues saying "someone has to pay" for the polices Burnham has announced this week; "the same people Labour always turns to when the sums don't add up".

Image source, In Pictures via Getty Images

According to the government’s announcement, external, the businesses that are eligible for the business rates cut are:

• Pubs

• Social clubs

• Live music venues

There are many other kinds of venue operating in the hospitality sector that pay business rates, but have not been mentioned in the announcement. These include:

• Hotels

• Restaurants

• Cafes

• Cinemas

The BBC has also heard from people who run businesses that mix some of these elements together - for example cafe bars, which serve coffee by day and alcoholic drinks by night. They say they're waiting for detail on if they are eligible.

Jamie McIvor
Scotland business reporter

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Today's announcement on business rates for pubs and music venues does not apply in Scotland.

Business rates are under the control of the Scottish government.

But pubs and the wider hospitality industry in Scotland have expressed similar concerns to those heard south of the border.

They have highlighted issues such as pub closures and the financial pressures some businesses are under.

The question is whether today's announcement by the UK government may add to the calls for the Scottish government to do more to help the sector.

The Scottish budget is normally presented to the Scottish Parliament in late autumn. Measures usually take effect at the start of the new financial year in April.

Image source, PA Media

Andy Burnham's announcement that pubs, clubs and live music venues in England will get a 20% business rates cut from April has received mixed reaction from across the political spectrum. Let's take a look:

• “Whilst any support for Britain’s hard-pressed businesses is welcome", says shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith, "once again this government has been found wanting on both the detail and funding for this policy"
• Deputy of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper says it's a "welcome first step but falls short of Labour's promise to overhaul the broken business rates system", which she says "penalises high street businesses whilst letting off Amazon warehouses"
• MP for Reform UK Robert Jenrick calls the announcement "currently unfunded" and says he thinks Burnham is "planning massive tax rises" to pay for it - he also says his party want to "phase out business rates altogether for pubs and cafes"
• While Green Party leader Zack Polanski says that "today's business relief for venues and pubs is a welcome respite for an industry at the heart of our communities"

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Chancellor John Healey has spoken to City and business leaders this morning saying not just that the economy needs “investment, innovation, the reindustrialisation,” but that the government is seeking to “lift the pessimism that has eroded not just the public's confidence, but our own prosperity”.

It rather puts into words the clear and contrasting strategy of the early days of this new administration from their predecessors.

The past three days have seen a series of early-morning, relatively small announcements meant to signal breathing space and help, and definitely not “pain” for longer term gain.

The chancellor praised business and wealth creators, saying “I will back you as your chancellor and I'll back you in financial services, in technology, in retail, in industry. In all parts of the economy…. I'm just as concerned about the cost of business as I am about the cost of living tax, energy supply chain costs, labour”.

He was speaking to an audience including leaders from Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds, JP Morgan and IT firms Quantexa, Elevenlabs and Kraken.

The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has criticised the government's new cut to business rates as "not a welcome development," accusing it of not creating a level playing field.

Helen Miller says the government is choosing to favour businesses such as pubs and music venues over others, including larger businesses and warehouses, through its new initiative.

She says: "Without business rates, rents would be higher and overall business costs the same."

Pubs have now had two rounds of relief, hotels and restaurants have had nothingpublished at 09:51 BST

09:51 BST

Simon Jack
Business editor

Image source, Getty Images

There is growing frustration among hotel and restaurant owners that they have once again been ignored by the government.

When business rates were recalculated in April, pubs were facing an average rise of 76% over the next three years while hotels were looking at a 110% rise.

Pubs have now had two rounds of relief - a 15% cut in April and a further 20% today - hotels and restaurants have had nothing.

Industry leaders have told the BBC that while they welcome the help for pubs, there is growing dismay that the rest of the sector - which employs 2.7 million of the 3.5 million people employed in hospitality - is getting no help at all despite assurances given by treasury officials in April that some help would be forthcoming.

Allen Simpson CEO of UK Hospitality - who also spoke to BBC Breakfast earlier - says: "Neither hotels nor restaurants have had the help they need. We've got to see a proper solution for the most overtaxed sector in the economy at this year's budget"

Treasury minister Emma Reynolds tells the BBC that none of the interventions introduced by the government this week will require higher taxes.

"All announcements we made this week are about reprioritising budgets, sometimes between departments, sometimes within departments, none of the announcements we have made this week will involve any tax increases," she tells the Today programme.

Asked if more help was on the way we she says: "We will look at further measures in the round in the run up to the budget because Andy Burnham really cares about these places."

Image source, Getty Images

"It doesn't go far enough but it does show that there is an understanding that hospitality needs a hand, especially smaller venues," chef and publican Tom Kerridge tells BBC Radio 5 Live.

Kerridge has been leading a campaign to cut hospitality VAT to 10%.

"It will come as welcome news," he continues. "But £1,000 on a yearly revenue doesn't really make a difference.

"But it shows the government are beginning to listen and has an understanding that hospitality is at the core and heart of so many communities."

Kerridge says he spoke to Burnham just before he became PM.

"I'm hopeful that as the prime inister and his team begin to get their feet underneath the table and they get to have an understanding on what's going on, that there will be more and more measures that come into place to help hospitality," he says.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says it's "time" to back pubs, clubs and music venues, speaking about his announced 20% cut to business rates for those businesses.

"I won’t stand by while these cherished local spaces disappear, replaced by boarded-up windows and ‘For Sale’ signs," he says in a post on X.

"They’re the heart of our communities and it’s time we backed them."

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is due to deliver a speech later this morning, and is expected to say that Andy Burnham is "still thinking like the mayor of Manchester", in response to a number of policy announcements.

"Going by what he’s announced so far," she is expected to say, "Andy Burnham’s ambitions for Britain are too small."

We'll have more details from the Tory leader's speech later this morning.

Andy Burnham's 20% cut in business rates will be welcomed as a "sorely needed discount" for locals pubs up and down the country, says the CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association.

Emma McClarkin says pubs have paid disproportionately higher business rates for "years and years", adding that it has "ground down" their ability to keep doors open.

She says the trade association had worked with Burnham's team before his election as Labour leader, adding that they want to work with the government on permanent reform to business rates.

Image source, PA Media

Chancellor John Healey has pledged to support UK businesses that have "felt really squeezed".

Speaking at an event for business leaders in London this morning, Healey says he will back British businesses, innovators and investors in his new role as chancellor.

"I'm just as concerned about the cost of business as I am about the cost of living," Healey adds.

The chancellor also goes on to outline his priorities in office, including curbing the cost of living, and ensuring that fiscal rules are met "with a buffer against uncertainty".