The Forum of Private Business is supporting the Real Meal Deal: A self-financing scheme to cut household food bills and boost economic growth.
The Real Meal Deal are campaigning for a tax-relief scheme worth up to £220 a month for employees and £6.4 billion for the economy –all while creating 300,000 jobs and boosting turnover for food providers by 18%.
It is a new meal card that would work by giving all employees at participating employers a meal card loaded with up to £220 each month (£10 per working day) to spend on food and non-alcoholic beverages at participating food providers.
How would a meal card scheme work?
1. Restaurants and local food providers sign-up to participate in the meal card scheme.
2. Employers opt-in to the scheme and decide the maximum allowance for their employees (up to £220 per month tax free -£10 per working day).
3. Employees at participating organisations receive a meal card to spend on food and non-alcoholic beverages at restaurants and other local food providers, boosting their food purchasing power.
Why is the Forum supporting the Real Meal Deal?
We believe that the Real Meal Deal provides a simple policy change that could halve household food budgets, and support employers, the hospitality sector and stimulate the UK economy, at a time when it is needed the most.
We’re supporting the campaign to help unlock the many benefits that the Real Meal Deal can bring:
Supporting employers
- At a time when employers are struggling to recruit new employees, meal cards would help employers to attract and retain existing talent, reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and improve health and well-being, without increasing the tax burden.
- Meal cards would provide immediate real-term support for workers across the country, putting British businesses at the heart of a new deal for workers
Strengthening the hospitality and retail sector
- We understand that spiraling energy bills and food inflation are creating immense pressure for local restaurants and food providers.
- Meal cards would create additional spend in the sector, driving an average 18% increase in annual turnoverand create 300,00 new jobs.
- This would help to encourage employees back to town and city centres following the rise in remoteworking during the Covid-19 pandemic, and help local employers, food providers and restaurants to foster closer relationships, strengthening communities.
Growing the UK economy
- Additional tax revenue and investment, as well as higher turnover and levels of employment in the hospitality sector, would unlock an additional £6.4 billion for the country’s economy.
- New jobs and injections of cash into big and small businesses will help to revitalise villages, towns, and city centres.
How YOU can help
The scheme would be easy to implement, with a simple change to HMRC’s current tax-exemption rules for worker benefits and expenses. To make the case to Government, we need to spread awareness of the scheme amongst employees, employers, and local businesses.
For more information and to see how you can get involved with supporting the campaign, please visit realmealdeal.co.uk/support-the-campaign/or email realmealdeal@wacomms.co.uk