WHILE Chancellor Rishi Sunak's measures may be a "lifeline" for many - there are fears some in the hospitality sector will struggle to survive the festive season.

That's the message from the Bradford Business Improvement District following the unveiling of a range of measures to support the economy. 

Bradford BID manager Jonny Noble said: “We welcome any intervention to support hard-pressed businesses and their employees and the Chancellor’s commitment to helping keep people in work for the next six months is a major step forward that will provide a lifeline for many companies, especially SMEs.

“There is still a great deal of concern, though, in the hospitality sector, especially the later night venues, which has been further hit by the latest Covid restrictions just as it was starting to get back on its feet.

"The extension of reduced VAT for the hospitality and tourism sector is very welcome for many restaurants and those pubs and bars who serve food – but it doesn’t apply to beer and alcohol sales so many of these will be wondering how they are going to survive the festive season.

“We will be monitoring the effect of these latest schemes on city centre businesses to see what impact they have on our levy-payers and we hope the Chancellor will remain flexible and willing to take further steps if they become necessary.”