Talking about the 2025 autumn budget and what it means for hospitality

In this episode of Talking Food with Bidfood, Catherine Hinchcliff is joined by Jim Cathcart, Policy Director at UKHospitality, to break down the 2025 Autumn Budget and explore what the fallout really means for the hospitality and foodservice sectors.

From mandatory food reporting proposals to new red tape reforms, this episode dives into the policies shaping the future of our industry, and what operators, chefs, buyers and food development teams need to know right now.

Tune in to explore:

• The major takeaways from the 2025 Autumn Budget
• The implications (and opportunities) for hospitality businesses
• How food legislation and mandatory reporting could impact operators
• What’s next for the sector from a policy perspective

And much more!

Whether you’re an operator, buyer, chef, catering manager or part of a food development team, this episode offers clear insight and practical guidance to help you navigate the current landscape with confidence.

Listen now and get the expert perspective behind the headlines.

Discover our industry support hub, Unlock Your Menu, where we share engineering tips to unlock your menu’s full potential: https://www.bidfood.co.uk/unlock-your-menu/

You can see more expert advice and guidance from UK Hospitality, the trade body for hospitality in the UK, here: https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/

Participants:

Guests:

• Jim Cathcart- Policy Director at UK Hospitality
• Catherine Hinchcliff- Head of Corporate Marketing at Bidfood

Timestamps:

00:00- Intro

01:50- What were your immediate reactions to this year’s autumn budget? Any big wins or disappointments for the hospitality sector?

03:38- What parts of it would you say are most likely to have the most direct impact on our industry?

05:08- Do you think those messages were heard, and where would you say you stand? How do you plan to most forward on these key asks now that the budget has been announced?

07:22- So you think maybe it’s a question of, not whether or not you were heard, but whether or not the government truly appreciates the worth of the hospitality industry?

10:23- Do you think the budget provided any meaningful support to businesses to manage rising input costs and keep prices sensible?

11:40- Do you believe that lower level (business rate discount) was sufficient given some of the big increases in rateable value that some sites will see?

15:48- Do you think the position is recoverable with another campaign? More noise from the sector?

17:31- How damaging is the lack of reduction of VAT for the hospitality industry?

19:57- What immediate risks does the removal of national insurance relief on salary sacrifice contributions over £2000 pose for staffing levels, opening hours and prices for consumers?

23:19- Will new red tape reform help small hospitality operators or large ones?

27:19- What are your thoughts on holiday tax?

29:48- What do you think operators need to know about madatory reporting on healthy food?

32:30- What do you think the budget missed?

35:33- What 3 practical things would you advise hospitality businesses do in light of the last budget? How should it translate into their plans for 2026?

37:32- Outro