‘Tax break tart’: hospitality tipped to exploit summer VAT cut on children’s meals

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The Blue Stoops in Kensington has launched a £25 “kids” menu featuring wild Burgundy snails, anchovy butter toast, beef and oyster pie, and a non-alcoholic beer, a package that qualifies for the temporary VAT cut Rachel Reeves announced last month. From 25 June to 1 September the rate on children’s meals drops from 20% to 5% as part of the “Great British summer savings scheme.” Pubs and restaurants face no obligation to verify that a diner ordering a discounted child’s meal is actually under 18, and the scheme has been derided by the chief executive of the 1,300-strong Admiral Taverns chain as “so small it’s embarrassing” and a “joke;” the industry is rallying behind a permanent 10% rate.