Lets take advantage of bumper Folk Festival to support our businesses

MP Simon Jupp. (Image: Remy Osman)

Sidmouth Folk Festival is an important fixture in the East Devon calendar.

Last week, thousands of residents and visitors enjoyed the live music, dancing, crafts, food, and drink on offer. It was fantastic to see the festival back firing on all cylinders.

The pandemic hit its organisers hard. Festival director John Braithwaite and his team turned to a crowdfunding campaign and the government’s Culture Recovery Fund to enable any sort of celebration to take place last year.

Behind the glorious appearance of last week’s festivities, it would be amiss to be too complacent about the picture for the tourism, hospitality, and events sectors. Growth is fragile. It was as recent as February that 1 in 3 UK hospitality businesses had no cash reserves.

Looking forward, I know from conversations with local pub, café, restaurant, B&B, and hotel owners that rising energy bills are of increasing concern. One Exmouth pub owner told me their electricity bill may rise in a few months from £15,000 to £45,000 per year. Unlike households, businesses do not benefit from an energy price cap. It's difficult for any high street business to find money to cover their energy bill tripling.

As the head of the cross-party group for hospitality and tourism businesses in Parliament, I'm leading an inquiry into rising energy bills. The government – and the next PM – must act.

I will be using future columns to talk again about consumer energy bills and more support this autumn. Small businesses need their voice heard, too. They are the lifeblood of any town or village. They pay taxes and contribute to the funding of local services. And their owners are employers, responsible for the livelihoods of maybe a dozen people.

The next PM needs to help create the right conditions so the hospitality sector can go from strength to strength. Towns like Exmouth, Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Topsham and others depend on the hum of festivity each summer.

Please continue to support our local pubs, cafés and restaurants. Be patient if the service takes a little longer. Hospitality staff are working as hard as they can.