A new petition has been launched calling for a minister for hospitality.

The call comes after an incredibly hard year for the industry where restrictions have hugely damaged the businesses.

The petition already has 60,000 plus signatures and continues to steadily grow.

The petition says: "The UK hospitality industry. Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn in activity, resulting in £38bn in taxation. Yet, unlike the Arts or Sports, we do not have a dedicated Minister.

"We are asking that a Minister for Hospitality be created for the current, and successive governments.

"A dedicated Minister would liaise with industry representatives. We believe such a Minister would have been beneficial to Government & Industry during the pandemic.

"As the UK seeks to encourage investment & tourism back to the UK in coming years, the vision that UK hospitality industry portrays of the UK is excellence, innovation, inspiration.

"We need a Minister who can listen to concerns on taxation & legislation and bring forward suggestions to the chancellor and policy makers on our behalf."

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The government has responded:

" Responsibility for the hospitality sector is shared by Ministers in the Departments for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

"The Government recognises the importance of the UK's hospitality sector, which plays a vital role in supporting local communities up and down the country and the UK economy.

"The sector is extremely broad, ranging from the arts and entertainment to pubs, cafes and restaurants, and as such responsibility for the sector as a whole is shared by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

"Ministers in both Departments have worked closely with business leaders and representative bodies from across the sector throughout the pandemic to ensure that the interests of the hospitality businesses and their employees are fully represented within Government.

"Hospitality sector business leaders were consulted on the Government's Covid-Secure Guidance for businesses, and Ministerial engagement with the sector has helped to shape the Government's extensive package of business support measures, which has included the job retention scheme, reduced VAT, rates relief, the commercial rent moratorium, hospitality grants, loan support schemes, the self-employed income support scheme, regulatory easements to support outdoor hospitality and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme."

If the petition reaches 100,000 signatures it will be debated in parliament.

Teddington has a number of hospitality venues - so this petition may be important to them.

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[.B]You can sign it HERE[.B]