Restaurant Takings vs School VAT

[PollyG23]

Restaurant takings are down YTD and most commentators are saying that it is due to NICS and min wage but surely a big factor is due to the VAT on school fees which is eating into middle class discretionary spending- why is no one mentioning this? (Or maybe I just haven’t seen anything?) What else is getting eaten into? (No pun intended)

Yabu.

I stubbed my toe earlier and I'm pretty sure it was due to VAT on private school fees and yet the media are too scared to cover it

More kids withdrew from private school after Liz truss disastrous budget than any other time. Check the stats.

Only middle class people eat in restaurants?

Really, no.

If a family has 2 children at a £25kpa private school that has just gone up to £30kpa from VAT the school fees budget has just rocketed by £10,000pa. You do not address a £10,000pa deficit by cutting back on restaurant spend. Who spends anything like that in restaurants - £833 per month?

You would be more likely to sell the holiday home in cornwall or forego the skiing holidays for a few years - and might well increase the restaurant spend as a relatively cheap way to have a treat with the leftover funds thus released

Not what i was meaning @TheGrimSqueakersFlea (as Im sure you know) but that that particular demographic has seen a marked reduction in discretionary income which is affecting restaurants and i’m also interested in speculating what other adjacent sectors and what people’s view are

@neverknowinglyunreasonable that was quite funny!

It’s not really affecting us at the moment as school fees are a minor part of our income. VAT is irrelevant.

I have mainly stopped eating out because as someone who worked for every penny they have, I object to the absolutely insane cost of basic food. £10 for a panini I can make myself for £2. No thanks.

If you are talking about sit down restaurants specifically, again it’s down to value for money again for me. I’m sick of being served rubbish for £100 a person

True food prices have gone up a lot

Some simple maths shows that about 1% of the adult population of the UK have a child in private school.

I imagine the impact is minimal.

Interesting- i didnt know this @Poonu

Yes for us - we have definitely cut back on eating out due to VAT increases (we are not wealthy but middle class earners) but agree with others it’s not just VAT, it’s the cost of living also.

Ironically our friends who have quit private schools due to VAT are now splashing out on fancy overseas holidays to Asia and Australia so yes sadly the uk is not getting that extra “spare” money either

Everyone focuses on the fact that 7% of children are privately educated (around 770,000) but ignores the fact that most adults are not parents of school-age children.

Minimum wage has only just kicked in today, new NICs presumably 6 April - OK some orgs may have been cutting staff & doing some advance planning.

there's just over 0.5m children in private schools (2022) - assume some siblings - lets say 1/4 million families.
Population is a little under 70 million
I don't think that VAT on schools is having that much impact on restaurant takings.

Maybe OP went to private school? Having problems getting it into perspective.

Whoops - was it an April Fools thread?

Probably because it’s not true.

It really was a dumb, spiteful move. People didn’t care because they thought labour were just going to go after the wealthy when in fact they will hit those with SEN children the hardest.

Ironically i think the wealthy are the only people they haven’t gone after so far…

DH and I are v high income but dont privately educate the DC (i don't like private schooling) so i have tons of money.

We are eating out less because to be honest, the ratio of a restaurant bill that goes on premises & staff costs means i spend an awful lot on a mediocre meal i could prepare at home. Add in babysitting costs and we just can't be bothered, especially as these days there are just too many boring chain restaurants.

I would still say we eat out more than many. It just doesn't feel like a delicious treat now, more an unnecessary faff.

That's quite a reach to suggest that a high enough proportion of the parents of 7% of school age children have reduced their meals out to such an extent that it is noticeable in restaurant takings.

I can't answer for all private school parents but we have eaten out more this year than for about a decade.

Think it’s probably general CoL.

I used to spend over that a month eating out. Didn't cook from Friday-Monday.

I hardly bother now because as PP says the quality of restaurant food is shocking now. I can't remember the last time I came away thinking "that was worth it".

And don't get me started on "small plates". Biggest con known to man.

My children aren't in private school though so take my views with a pinch of salt for this thread.

Also can't speak for others but we're time poor and tired. We aren't out spending money of a weekend because we are too knackered from fitting in kids & work that we simply can't be bothered.

Loads of things went up in price today like utilities, water, council tax… while wage rises were not as high.

If VAT was such as issue, wouldn’t the families who left their private schools be eating out, buying expensive cars and going on luxury holidays this summer ?

Public school is beyond the reaches of the middle classes these days, pretty sure if you can afford to send Johnny to Eton you can still afford the odd pizza express.
Also only 7% of children are privately educated and some off them will be siblings. I think it's unlikely this small group of people, lots of whom are more than wealthy enough to absorb the increase, are the cause of the downturn of the casual dining sector.

We had a good income but couldn’t afford Private School for 3 children.
Now divorced on a much lower income, I do still eat out on occasion.

Absolutely not connected- far more people eat out (even in very good Reston occasion) than could ever pay school fees.

I think it's more likely the pensioners who have had winter fuel allowance cut, universities are making cuts of staff, creative industries are really cutting back, manufacturing & agriculture has never really recovered from Brexit and now there are scares about trump's tariffs. If you thought you were catering to the private school demographic there could be other factors.