Tourism and hospitality businesses across Northumberland have reacted to the energy support package announced by the Government on Wednesday morning.
This morning's statement from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) revealed that the Government is working with energy suppliers to reduce charges to businesses, charities and public sector organisations to less than half the wholesale prices anticipated this winter.
A cap of £211 per MWH for electricity and £75 per MWH for gas has been introduced, something that businesses had been hoping for as soon as a scheme was hinted at earlier in the month when Prime Minister Liz Truss had announced help for households. Companies did not previously benefit from any cap on energy bills, with many seeing their running costs skyrocketing for this reason.
Read more: Energy support package for businesses announced by Government
Steve White, who runs Market Cross Guest House in Belford, says he is glad the Government is doing something but is still worried. He said: "We don't know what our gas bill is going to be this year, but it's potentially going to be scary.
"Small businesses like us were hammered by Covid for two years and then coming out of that and having to find considerably more money to pay for the bills, particularly through the winter, for some hospitality businesses it's the final nail in the coffin."
Steve admits that he does not expect the Government to provide as much help to businesses as they did during the Coronavirus pandemic and that "people will be glad they are doing it but don't think they can do as much as everyone will want."
He added: "I think it's a difficult one because they're saying that you're only going to pay half of what you would normally have to pay but because the energy prices have gone up so much, half is still going to be away above what you would normally pay anyway. Yes, it's going to be a help, but I think there will be businesses that will still be struggling."
Amanda White, Steve's wife and Market Cross's co-owner, added: "My bigger concern is how this then affects everything else that we buy. We'll get this Government support but it's how it affects the price of all goods in the supermarkets, the butchers.
"We've just had an email from one place who have put an extra £1 on their shipping costs. All of those things are what's going to add up and in some respects, I think that's going to affect us more."
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The Government is set to review the scheme after three months, and would "focus on identifying the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the Government will continue assisting them with energy costs." Steve and Amanda think that they are likely to be okay, after they started to prepare for the following winter as soon as they had come out of Covid.
However, that's not the case for all of Northumberland's tourism and hospitality businesses.
One section of the hospitality industry where things have been much less stable is a staple of the Northumberland Coast - fish and chip shops. They have not only had to cope with increased energy bills in recent months, but also a rise in the price of ingredients, with the price of fish having increased by 115% back in April.
Waseem Mir, owner of the Harbour View in Seaton Sluice, welcomed the cap on energy bills for business but hopes that the Government has back-up plans in place. He said: "The cost of living crisis itself has potentially reached a pinnacle now and we're seeing fish and chip shops closing in the North East.
"The quotes some have been getting for their gas and electric in some cases has tripled, so the fact that the Government is doing something to help is a breath of fresh air. My gas and electric deals are coming to an end in the next three months, so the fact that there's a cap being put on it gives us a little bit more time to organise ourselves to be able to deal with the quiet winter periods where we're still going to be using the same amount of gas and electric but not getting as many people through the door because of high prices.
And Waseem hopes that the support is not just a stop-gap to keep people happy during the colder months. He continued: "Once the support does come to an end, are they (the Government) prepared that's not just going to be the end of it?
"Are they prepared to carry on taking care of businesses if the war in Ukraine hasn't come to an end and we're still facing all the problems that we're currently facing? Have they got a back-up plan, a long term plan, or is this just a short-term plan to keep everyone happy for now?
"I don't want hand-outs, I don't want money. What I want from the Government is to know that they've got not just one plan for this, but potentially two or three just in case things don't go in the right direction this winter."
Dave Harris-Jones, co-owner of Laverock Law Cottages in Lowick with his wife Harvest, is also worried that the plan, which covers businesses from October 1 to March 31 and will be reviewed after three months, is short-sighted. The couple feel that they are currently "absorbing" a lot of costs to run their holiday cottages and glamping huts, and fear putting their prices up.
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Dave said: "Our costs have gone up massively during the cost of living crisis but we are scared to put our prices up. What we think is going to happen this winter is that we're going to have a lot less people coming on short breaks, as last year people had spare cash and spare holidays and that's just not the case.
"How can you pass all of the increases onto customers? If you pass the costs on, people aren't going to come in.
"We don't know until March next year what energy prices we might be faced with, but we need to set our prices now because people are making their plans for next year. As a business, we've had to increase the prices a small amount, but the risk is if you take it any higher you don't get the business, but have we taken it high enough to potentially offset any extra costs?
"In terms of the support we've been given for now, yes, okay. But I think everybody needs that longer-term certainty, because where are we going to end up in six or twelve months time?"
However, Dave can see one positive in increased energy prices. Laverock Law prides itself on its green credentials, and the rise in costs may lead to reduced amounts of carbon as businesses take stock of how much energy they use, potentially benefitting the environment.
He finished: "I think we'll see a lot less wastage, businesses are going to be forced to look at everything they do now energy-wise. We've always been good but we've become super conscious, and the small benefit is people will be using less electricity and other fossil fuels."
NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) represents tourism businesses across the North East, including in Northumberland. Sarah Green, Chief Executive, has welcomed the Government's Energy Bills Relief package but warned that many businesses in the region will need further support beyond the winter.
She said: "We welcome the energy bill support package announced today. NGI’s recent business survey showed 44% of hospitality and tourism businesses, in the region, were expecting to face challenges to their profitability over the winter, due to increased operating costs, inflation and general cost of living increases.
"Any measure that supports regional hospitality businesses through this challenging landscape is appreciated, however in the same business survey many businesses told us they will further support beyond the winter to remain viable. NGI will continue to deliver business support through initiatives such as our Hospitality, Innovation, Tourism Supply (HITS) programme, aimed at working with businesses to look at how they can reduce costs or work in a more innovative way.
"We are also hosting two webinars on Thursday, September 29 th which will focus on how food and drink and hospitality businesses can reduce waste, and ensure they stand out in a competitive market."
Do you think the Government's energy support package does enough to help businesses? Let us know!
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