© Crab Communication 2020
Claire Bosi, Editor of leading hospitality publication Chef & Restaurant Magazine, brings together some of the nation’s best chefs and hospitality representatives in a petition urging the UK government to impose a Minister for Hospitality.
The group, that includes world-renowned chefs including Marcus Wareing, Angela Hartnett, Asma Khan and Tom Kerridge, is calling for the appointment of a Minister for Hospitality to the UK government to ensure the representation of the interests of one of the country’s leading industries in Parliament. Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn of activity and contributing £38bn in taxation annually, the sector has been impacted heavily by Covid19 and the government’s thoughtless policy and communication surrounding the pandemic.
The group argues that having a representative voice in Parliament, as the Arts and Sports sectors do, would have been beneficial during what has been an exceptionally trying 6 months for the sector. Lockdown and the government’s contradictory communication around it was the start of many difficulties for the industry, with the introduction of a curfew across the country the latest.
With no representation in Parliament, the government was ill-equipped to assess the potential damages of its policy or the ways in which these might have been mitigated.
Commenting on the petition, Claire Bosi said: “2020 has been detrimental for our entire sector. Policy has been made and unmade without consulting those that are impacted most.
“Our country is renowned for having a hospitality sector that is synonymous with excellence, innovation and inspiration. As such a vital part of both the country’s economy and reputation, it seems fair that we, like other sectors, are given a representative voice in Parliament. We need a Minister who can listen to concerns on taxation and legislation and bring forward our suggestions to policymakers on our behalf. This is about efforts to secure our industry’s success in the future.”
You can sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/552201
You can also find out the latest updates by following the hashtag #Minister4Hospitality on social media and the @chefpublishing Instagram.
