* Sunak to head back to Britain on Thursday
* Surge in COVID cases fuels fears for hospitality firms
* Sunak says firms already have support via tax reliefs
(Adds further Sunak statement)
By David Milliken
LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi
Sunak cut short an official trip to the United States on
Thursday to consider help for COVID-hit hospitality businesses
but said firms were already receiving support through tax
reliefs.
Britain has reported record numbers of new COVID-19
infections for two days running, and on Wednesday England's
chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others
unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas.
"I appreciate that it is a difficult time for the
hospitality industry," Sunak told reporters before returning to
Britain.
"The good news, I would say, is that there is existing
support measures in place to help the industry," he added,
citing tax reliefs and money provided to local authorities which
had yet to be disbursed.
Sunak said he had held online talks with representatives of
the hospitality sector earlier in the day and would continue to
work with them after flying back to Britain late on Thursday. He
had previously been due to return on Saturday.
His statement was unlikely to ease the concerns of the
hospitality industry, whose trade body said that business had
been badly hit already during the Christmas period, which some
firms heavily rely on to see them through quieter months.
PRESSURE
A closely watched survey of purchasing managers published on
Thursday showed a hit to hospitality and travel companies this
month, sending overall private sector growth to a 10-month low.
Sunak and a deputy spoke on Thursday with trade groups
including UK Hospitality and the Confederation of British
Industry, as well as hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread
and restaurant chains Nando's and Prezzo.
"We stressed to the government this afternoon that help is
needed now for the small firms ... which are facing the
disruption of a tidal wave of Omicron right during the crucial
festive trading season," said Mike Cherry, chair of the
Federation of Small Businesses.
Britain has cut back most of the support it offered to
businesses during the pandemic. The job-protecting furlough
scheme ended on Sept. 30, while the rate of value-added tax
(VAT) on hospitality services increased to 12.5% from 5%, and is
due to rise again to its pre-pandemic level of 20% from April.
Business groups have called for a reversal of the VAT rise,
property tax exemptions and rebates on employees' sick pay.
($1 = 0.7534 pounds)
(Reporting by William Schomberg, William James and Elizabeth
Piper, writing by David Milliken
Editing by Gareth Jones, Giles Elgood and Philippa Fletcher)