Take-up of Eat Out to Help Out discounts in Hastings and Rye revealed

Participating eateries offered money off on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the month of August.

In the Hastings and Rye constituency more than 96,000 meals were claimed across 136 locations.

The total discount was £530,000 at an average of £5.54.

Sally-Ann Hart, Hastings and Rye MP, said: “It is great to see that through August the Eat Out to Help Out scheme delivered nearly 100,000 discounted meals in Hastings and Rye.

“This important intervention from the Government was designed to encourage people back out to our restaurants, pubs and bars to get them back on their feet after a very tough six months. The fact that nearly 100,000 meals have been bought and discounted during the last month, shows that residents in Hastings and Rye used their community spirit that was utilised in the darkest days of the pandemic to support the NHS, to now go out and support local businesses

“Thank you to everyone who made use of this scheme, you helped to keep our hospitality sector going.

“I will now continue to lobby and work with Ministers to ensure we still receive the funding and support we need to get over the economic impact that Covid19 has already had.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak added: “From the get-go our mission has been to protect jobs, and to do this we needed to be creative, brave and try things that no government has ever done before.

“Today’s figures continue to show Eat Out to Help Out has been a success. I want to thank everyone, from restaurant owners to waiters, chefs and diners, for embracing it and helping drive our economic recovery.

“The scheme is just one part of our Plan for Jobs and we will continue to protect, support and create jobs to ensure we come back stronger as a nation.”

The local breakdowns do not take into account registered businesses with more than 25 outlets, who are not required to provide individual restaurant details.

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