'235 hospitality businesses in Medway face cost of living cliff edge' - say Medway Liberal Democrats

*image - alan wells

235 businesses in Medway are facing a huge £989,052 energy bill increase once Government support is slashed in April, as revealed by new analysis from the Liberal Democrats. The analysis shows that the average bill increase per business is likely to be £4,209.

According to official statistics, in Medway there are 235 pubs, restaurants and cafes at risk, each facing a rise in energy bills by thousands of pounds. The Government initially capped the cost of business energy, but from April they are replacing that scheme and will instead just pay a small proportion of businesses' increased costs. This means many pubs, cafes and restaurants will see a 90% cut in help from the government.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to think again. Businesses across the country are worried about the cliff edge they're facing this year and ministers need to listen to businesses about the risks they are facing before the government withdraws support.

Commenting Liberal Democrat Spokesperson John Castle, Lib Dems candidate for St Mary's Island said: "Countless businesses in our area are facing financial difficulties this year. Our pubs, restaurants and cafes have endured so much already. People will be devastated to see any more harm to our local high streets.

The Government needs to give businesses around here the support they need to endure this energy bill catastrophe. Ministers in Westminster must not wait a moment more. Liberal Democrats are calling for them to intervene and think again about this change - if they don't we could see thousands of businesses, including pubs, restaurants and cafes going bust. This could rip the heart out of our communities."

ENDS
Notes to editors:

Data on the number of micro, small and medium sized pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes in the UK is available from the ONS via Nomis.

Business Energy costs (without government support) are based on estimates for micro, small and medium-sized businesses by Energy Broker Bionic from January 3 to January 6, 2023 - Average Business Energy Consumption | Energy Bills | Bionic

Details on the Government's Existing cap on business costs can be found here - Energy Bill Relief Scheme: help for businesses and other non-domestic customers - GOV.UK

Details for the Government's New support for business costs can be found here - Energy Bills Discount Scheme - GOV.UK

We then compared Bionic's figures with the two government schemes to calculate what the difference in support levels would be.