205 hospitality businesses in Derby face cost of living cliff edge

205 businesses in Derby are facing a huge £909,653 energy bill increase once Government support is slashed in April, new analysis from the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The analysis shows that the average bill increase per business is likely to be in excess of £4,200.

According to official statistics, in Derby there are 205 pubs, restaurants and cafes at risk, 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 they withdraw support.

Commenting Liberal Democrat Spokesperson Cllr Joe Naitta for Derby said:

"Countless businesses in our area are facing a cliff edge 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."

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Notes :

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.