SOARING energy bills could force Britain’s chippies and curry houses to shut their doors prompting 750 takeaway shops to call on the government to help.
Fish and chip shops have already taken a battering from a jump in the price of oil that they fry in but now the huge jump in energy bills has caused a “severe risk to their future”.
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A letter sent to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss on behalf of hundreds of restaurants has said that “Day after day, Britain’s smallest restaurants are having to close their doors for good.
Skyrocketing energy bills, food price inflation, a lack of staff, and supply chain delays are making hospitality unsustainable.
“This isn’t only detrimental to the Treasury’s tax take, but to our communities and culture. The local curry house has been part of the fabric of Britain for generations, while the local fish and chip shop is synonymous with our heritage worldwide. If we lose our local favourites, we risk losing part of what makes us British.”
Andrew Crook, the owner of Oh My Cod and deputy chair of the British Takeaway Campaign, recently shut down his fish and chip shop after electricity prices he was quoted to run his business jumped eight times higher from 11.5 per kilowatt per hour to 80p. “It is simply impossible to pay”, the Takeaway Campaign said.
The takeaway firms have highlighted that small businesses aren’t protected from a price cap – leaving them vulnerable to the huge swings in energy costs and eye watering bills.
The letter to the wannabe Tory leaders calls for a cut in VAT which they say would not only help energy costs but also reduce the cost of food. “It would help small businesses to keep the wolf from the door.”
Firms also called for an overhaul of business rates, which are now often more expensive than rents.
The fresh warnings come after figures showed that the rising cost of fish could force half of Britain’s fish and chip shops to shut. A fish and chip supper could rise from £8.50 to £11.50, based on new government levies.
Around a third of all UK-imported white fish comes from Russia and the government has pushed for a 25 per cent tariff on all Russian seafood. The move was meant to put pressure on President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
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The main ingredients used by fish & chip shops have all soared in price because Ukraine used to supply almost half of all the oil used by them while flour, used in the batter, has also jumped in price due to a potential wheat shortage caused by the war.
Meanwhile, farmers have warned of a potato shortage, impacting chips because of soaring prices of fertiliser and the summer’s heat wave which has affected production.
