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00:03At the end of the working week, we often look forward to treating ourselves.
00:09But is it becoming unaffordable?
00:12The picture is one of declining living standards.
00:15This sense that you're just working in order to survive.
00:19With the cost of living crisis still biting,
00:22there's not a lot left over for life's little luxuries.
00:26£9.80 for two juices.
00:27The cookies are £2.95 each.
00:32£2.90 a cookie.
00:34With less spare cash around, thousands of hospitality businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
00:41I'm paying myself less than minimum wage.
00:43I work about 60, 70 hours a week.
00:45If I walked away, I'm still going to be in debt personally.
00:48I don't sleep very well.
00:50The minimum wage is up, but there's concern about government tax rises.
00:56It's a lot of extra money.
00:58I think as a consequence of that, we are going to see the number of closures on High Street soar.
01:03As costs continue to rise, we ask, can families and businesses survive the squeeze?
01:17Three.
01:18Four.
01:19The Osborne family live in the Breadbury area of Stockport.
01:23Let's go level two.
01:25Level two.
01:26Mum Bianca works part-time as an HR administrator.
01:30Oh my gosh, I was in a jumper.
01:33Dad Paul is a manager at Network Rail.
01:37Together, they earn close to the average household income, which is just over £55,000 a year.
01:45With daughters, Amelia, four, and Sienna, ten, they're getting ready for an afternoon out.
01:52Even with two incomes, it's not something they do often.
01:56Bye! Bye!
01:58Bye!
01:58It's a treat, so we do it like, you know, for birthdays, Christmases.
02:03But yeah, not every weekend, definitely not.
02:05Not even really every month, really, is it?
02:07Special occasion.
02:09We struggle finding the right reasons to go out because we can't justify the cost.
02:15Yeah, we've noticed the increase as well, haven't we? Everything's gone up.
02:19We tend to prioritise going to parks, museums, fairs, that type of stuff that we can do for free.
02:27You coming, darling?
02:29We're paying for the family to have an afternoon out.
02:33Which one do you want?
02:34And they're going to tell us how much it costs.
02:37Do you want a tuna one?
02:40First up, they had to Costa Coffee for some lunch.
02:42Costa is the biggest UK coffee chain and says it's priced similarly to its competitors.
02:51So, yeah, £51.89.
02:54So, that's £6.10.
02:57The girls have got two tuna sandwiches, which are £5.70 each.
03:03Which, yeah, for a child, like, it is quite a lot just for a sandwich, isn't it?
03:07It is, like, £9.80 for two juices.
03:09The cookies are £2.95 each.
03:13£2.90 a cookie?
03:15So, the coffee was £4.50 and £4.99 each.
03:21Five-pound coffees.
03:22Yeah.
03:23So, the cheese bites, which are...
03:26These, so you get...
03:28Four cheese bites.
03:30Four cheese bites.
03:31They are £3.95.
03:34Yeah, £3.95, so it's giving up a pound a bite.
03:37Yeah.
03:37That's just fine.
03:38That's a pound for one cheese bite.
03:41Let's...
03:42Don't get me wrong for them.
03:43It tastes lovely.
03:44But for the value against price, it looks like a hell of a lot of inflation.
03:53It doesn't look like Costa's making huge profits.
03:57Its most recent financial figures say it made an operating loss of £13.5 million after tax in 2024.
04:10But the Osborne family aren't alone in finding the cost of eating out high.
04:16A YouGov survey suggests that close to half of all diners don't think current restaurant prices feel fair.
04:22With a third saying they're charging too much for the quality offered.
04:29I'm the BBC's Your Voice correspondent, looking at the country's most talked about issues.
04:34And for the last five years I've been covering the cost of living crisis.
04:37And day in, day out, people keep telling me that they have less and less spare cash.
04:45Disposable income is the money we have left after taxes are deducted from our earnings and benefits.
04:52For someone on the average wage, it's barely changed since before the pandemic.
04:59We have seen this stagnation or virtual stagnation in wages for a lot of people.
05:05But, you know, you have to cover the essentials.
05:07You have to cover food, heating, keeping a roof over your head,
05:11making sure the kids have got the essential things that they need.
05:14Those things have really gone up in price in recent years.
05:17And so people are struggling.
05:18They're struggling to make bills that they wouldn't have previously struggled with.
05:25Since the pandemic, food's gone up 39%.
05:28Fuel's gone up 35%.
05:31And rent and mortgage costs 41%.
05:40After lunch at Costa, the Osborne family head out for afternoon activities.
05:48Bianca and Amelia spend about an hour and a half at Sea Life.
05:54Which costs £32 for an adult and child.
05:59Two photos cost an extra £15.
06:06Meanwhile, Paul and Sienna are having a laser quest adventure.
06:11The session, which lasts about half an hour, costs £21.50 for an adult and child.
06:19Laser quest says it's great value for money and that it's sited in high cost locations,
06:25with significant rent, service charge and business rates.
06:32Merlin, the owners of Sea Life, told us that despite the significant increase in costs,
06:37such as national insurance, they work hard to keep attractions as fairly priced as possible
06:43and regularly review pricing.
06:47Costa Coffee declined to make a comment.
06:54It's been a busy afternoon.
06:57Overall, the activities and food cost about £120.
07:02Prices vary depending on times and dates.
07:06We've had great time and made some great memories,
07:09but we'd certainly have to think twice before doing it more regular than special occasions,
07:16which is unfortunate.
07:17Yeah, we couldn't do it every week.
07:19Definitely not.
07:22Pound cheese bites.
07:24Oh, my God.
07:24One pound per cheese bite.
07:27Still can't get over that.
07:38Things have been tough in Britain for a while.
07:41For many, life is still harder than it should be.
07:45In his New Year message, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged to improve people's standards of living.
07:53You long for a bit more money in your pockets.
07:56A meal out.
07:57A holiday.
07:58The chance to make a special family moment extra special.
08:03At the start of March, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves also said she had good news.
08:08That inflation was forecast to go down and the economy expected to grow a little faster next year.
08:14But this immediately looks set to be blown off course by the war on Iran.
08:20As a result, oil prices are up, inflation is now expected to stay at 3%, and interest rate cuts have
08:28been put on hold.
08:31Even before the attacks on Iran, many people were struggling.
08:38Overall, the picture is one of declining living standards across the board.
08:42What impact is that having for households?
08:45Well, one of the things that we've seen people really scaling back is on leisure and socialising.
08:52So, you know, what maybe would have once been going out for dinner becomes a takeaway at home.
08:58What maybe would have once been going out to the pub becomes having a few drinks at home.
09:02Not only is this a problem for individuals and for families, it's a problem for our economy if people aren't
09:09going out and spending.
09:14In Stockport, I want to find out how businesses are getting on.
09:20Household income here is slightly above the national average.
09:26But for many, the going is still tough.
09:42James and his sister-in-law, Eleanor, set up the Brew32 Cafe in Stockport in 2025.
09:51I've worked in hospitality all my life, worked for big companies, worked for small companies,
09:56worked for family-run businesses and stuff.
09:58I thought it was time to do it for myself and hopefully, you know, build something for me and my
10:03family in the future.
10:06It's a family-run business with help from friend Jamie, who works as their chef.
10:11But recently, business has been slow.
10:16I've spoken to a couple of other cafes and bars around here and it's really been noticed that people have
10:22got less money to come in with.
10:23They're using it more as a treat, something special rather than just going out and having something to eat while
10:29they're out.
10:29It's changed the way people act.
10:33They haven't got their money to do what they normally would.
10:39Despite his best efforts, James says he's already had to reduce his staff from nine to four in the six
10:46months since they opened.
10:49And now chef Jamie is set to leave.
10:54Some days it's really quiet.
10:56I can clearly see that the business isn't going to be making money.
10:59I knew my wage was the biggest expense.
11:01So, as a friend to James as well, it's hard to be demanding.
11:06He pays me and gives me the full-time hours when, you know, the business is the way it is.
11:11It's heartbreaking. He's been my friend for many years.
11:14He left his other job to come work for me and then six months down the line, he's going to
11:19have to go somewhere else.
11:22Last year, a survey suggested more than a third of people were eating out less than a year before.
11:29Chef Jamie has decided to change career altogether.
11:35I just applied to be a trainee bus driver, so that's where I'm going to next.
11:39Why is it that you're changing career? Did you think about getting another job as a chef?
11:44I did think about it, but the way the sort of hospitality industry is at the moment, what's the chances
11:49of me going somewhere else and then, you know, having to cut my hours or reduce it?
11:52I didn't really want to take that risk.
11:54I've got children and things like that to think of, so I had to look elsewhere, basically.
12:12Emily's the manager and owner of Tumble Jack's Play Centre in Stockport.
12:17I've run the business for about four and a half years now.
12:19We are primarily a younger play centre, but we also specialise in birthday parties as well.
12:26A popular place for parents to meet up with other mums and dads and enjoy a coffee while the kids
12:32play.
12:35But Emily's also finding that people have less free cash to spend.
12:42We've seen massive reductions in our party numbers, so people still want to do a birthday party for their child,
12:46but instead of inviting the whole class, they'll invite 15 children instead of the 30.
12:51And that is simply just because people don't necessarily seem to have the disposable income.
12:56She says there's another major problem which is putting her business in jeopardy.
13:02Her growing staffing and business costs.
13:06Last year, the government increased the minimum wage for people aged 21 and over, known as the national living wage,
13:14to £12.21 an hour.
13:16And next month, it's rising again to £12.71.
13:21It's also increased employers' national insurance contributions from 13.8 to 15%, while also making employers pay contributions for those
13:33earning less than £9,100 a year who were previously exempt.
13:40How many staff do you have at the moment, and how has that changed, particularly over the last year or
13:44so?
13:45So, at the moment, we have 13. Round about this time last year, we had about 18.
13:51Next month's increase means the cost of hiring a full-time worker on the national living wage will have risen
13:57by about £3,400 a year since 2024.
14:05I work about 60, 70 hours a week because I'm having to cover it.
14:10And I'm paying myself less than the minimum wage.
14:14From April, business rates for many businesses are set to rise.
14:18At the same time, discounts for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector are being reduced.
14:26For Emily, it's a double whammy.
14:29Now we've got the business rates increase. We've got to find £7,500 a year out of nowhere.
14:35Extra. Extra.
14:36And the only way of then finding that extra is attempting to put the prices up.
14:40But then if you put the prices up, I'm not going to get more people coming in because people can't
14:44then afford to pay.
14:45Facing all of these increasing costs, how does it feel?
14:50I don't sleep very well, in all honesty.
14:52It's really hard. It is such a pressure because this is my living and yet I also have such a
15:00responsibility to pay my team.
15:02And there's huge pressure on her personally.
15:05She says she's borrowed £80,000 to start the business.
15:10If I walked away, I'm still going to be in debt personally.
15:13It is a constant battle, finding ways to try and reduce costs, but I'm kind of running out of ideas
15:19because costs are constantly going up.
15:21How much more can businesses take when we are just being hammered all the time?
15:28In total, the hospitality industry employs more than two and a half million people across the UK.
15:34According to the Trade Body UK Hospitality, the sector contributes £54 billion in tax to the economy.
15:45By November, the UK hospitality industry had lost nearly 60,000 jobs in a year.
15:54The industry trade body says the figures are getting worse.
15:59I've come to York to meet its chair, Kate Nicholls.
16:04The hospitality sector has faced a perfect storm, soaring costs and high inflation, which has hit both our customers and
16:12our businesses.
16:13So, put simply, the money coming through the front door isn't enough to cover the costs of doing business and
16:18the businesses are struggling to make a profit.
16:21The government says that everyone has to be properly rewarded for their hard work.
16:27Rises in the minimum wage are an important part of addressing the cost of living crisis for the lower paid.
16:34But with job losses across the hospitality industry, is it becoming too expensive for employers to keep staff on?
16:4553% of our costs are accounted for in terms of wages and associated costs of employing people.
16:54And that has really spiralled out of control over the last couple of years.
16:5860% of our businesses say they have cut staff hours or cut jobs.
17:03UK hospitality says next month's business rate increases could result in even more job losses.
17:12It's a lot of extra money.
17:13I think as a consequence of that, we are going to see the number of closures on High Street soar.
17:21In January, to mitigate the effects of the rises, the government announced a 15% additional business rate relief for
17:29pubs and live music venues, as well as a £10 million hospitality support fund.
17:38Right, Elsie, you need to come and get your coat on.
17:42Over in the Bramall area of Stockport, the George family is preparing for a night out.
17:49Dad Robbie is a college lecturer, and mum Rachel is a merchandising manager.
17:56They earn above the national average, but like the Osborns, find going out is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
18:06Let's go.
18:08In terms of going out in general to, so let's say entertainment venues or music, football and things, we're really
18:16limited on that at the minute.
18:18I think the last time that we went out for food, Rob and I just watched the kids eat, and
18:22we just paid for the kids to eat so that we didn't spend as much money.
18:29First, they've come to family favourite Pizza Express.
18:34So, these are the classic ones.
18:36Again, we're paying for their evening out, and the George family will keep tabs on the cost.
18:43First up, dough balls.
18:47Seven dough balls, that's nearly a pound each.
18:51It's your brand, it's really nice, but it is.
18:54They're very nice to be fair.
18:57Next, they're having pizzas with two side salads and two portions of polenta chips.
19:04That was £18.75.
19:07That's small, isn't it?
19:08Oh, yeah.
19:09So, £5.95 for this salad and some of the, literally just lettuce and cucumber.
19:15That it?
19:16These are the blood chips, six to five.
19:18There is nine chips.
19:21It's a 70-piece chip.
19:24They're really nice to be fair, but that's a lot of money for a chip.
19:28The grown-ups are having wine and beer with their meal, and everyone says yes to pudding.
19:35That is huge. Look at that.
19:38This is normally, like, £8 and a half, but it's pretty good, isn't it?
19:42Yeah.
19:43In total, with a 10% tip, the bill comes to £174.
19:52That is...
19:53..absolutely delicious.
19:58After dinner...
20:00That is terrible.
20:02..it's off to the bowling.
20:05Woo!
20:07For the four of them, it costs £38.50 for a game, which lasts about an hour.
20:17So, total all-in was £220, roughly, so it's a real treat.
20:24We've had a three-course meal and a couple of drinks and a nice game of bowling.
20:28It's just astronomical how much it costs.
20:30Spending the amount that we've spent tonight, it's like one or two weekly shops for one night.
20:35So, hard to justify that, isn't it?
20:37Yeah.
20:38The bowling chain 10 Pin told us that it offers great value and has a variety of deals, promotional sessions
20:45and packages.
20:48Pizza Express told us it recognises household budgets are under pressure.
20:53It focuses on providing great value and runs a variety of offers and discounts throughout the year and free rewards
21:01through its loyalty scheme.
21:07I'm meeting Carl Williams of the Centre for Policy Studies.
21:11He says some companies are struggling to keep prices down.
21:16If people have got less disposable income, less spare cash to spend, businesses will see lower footfall.
21:23At the same time, their costs are still increasing and they still have to try to eke out some profit
21:29from that.
21:29So, they pass the increased costs on to their customers.
21:33But that, in turn, just means a vicious cycle where fewer people are coming and their turnover is falling.
21:48Not every sector of the leisure industry is struggling.
21:52With less spare cash, some people are changing their spending patterns,
21:56looking for cheaper alternatives that still allow for a small treat or affordable social activity.
22:07I'm Gaz, strength and conditioning coach of 13 years.
22:11I always had the dream of opening my own facility.
22:14I built this gym in 2018.
22:18Gyms, along with garden centres, food delivery and takeaways, are all doing well.
22:27Obviously, I've had the ups and downs over the years, but we've found that our membership has been nice and
22:32stable.
22:33The sweatshed has 132 members at a monthly subscription of £70, which has just risen to £79 for new members.
22:43The gym membership is a monthly membership where you can visit multiple times,
22:49whereas a lot of people spend that and more on a single night out.
22:56There are other factors, too.
22:58Younger people, in particular, are drinking less and prioritising their health,
23:03with around a third saying they haven't drunk alcohol in the last year.
23:09I find that a lot of the members here like getting out and experiencing something like the gym with a
23:15bunch of like-minded individuals.
23:18It's almost like their social activity and almost like their night out now to have a chat and have a
23:24laugh with people.
23:28A lot goes up at seven and you start a town
23:34I'm bored and you're a down one
23:37Amongst the hardest hit by job losses in the hospitality sector are young people.
23:45I've come to the Forum Theatre in the Romilly area of Stockport.
23:54This is one of the biggest theatres in Stockport, but it's very grassroots, I would say.
23:59We're a home for local dance schools and theatre groups and up and coming bands.
24:09We use performing arts as a way of teaching young people, giving them life skills, giving them opportunities.
24:18The theatre is a charity and employs about 20 young people in part-time roles.
24:25In terms of personal development, it's got a whole range of things.
24:29You know, you're dealing with tickets, you're dealing with cleaning up, you're dealing with the public.
24:33It's my first job and it's an amazing opportunity to have, to be honest.
24:37Working within this environment with like-minded people, it makes me a lot more confident.
24:42It helps me with, like, my people skills.
24:50Darren says changes to the minimum wage for young people will impact the theatre.
24:56For 18- to 20-year-olds, it will rise next month by an inflation-busting 8.5% to
25:04£10.85 an hour.
25:06For 16- and 17-year-olds, it will go up to £8 an hour.
25:13Where are we supposed to find the money to help pay for that?
25:16It's great for the individuals. It becomes a huge challenge for a business like ours.
25:21You have to think about, how long can I afford to employ those staff for?
25:27The latest figures show the number of 16- to 24-year-olds actively looking for work is at a
25:3410-year high.
25:35At almost half a million, they make up a quarter of the total unemployed.
25:43Last week, the government announced a new scheme to subsidise employers who take on young people who've been looking for
25:50work for six months or more.
25:56Fundamentally, every young person you employ now is going to cost you a lot more to employ.
26:0125% or 26% more than two years ago.
26:04At the end of the day, that probably means you end up employing fewer young people.
26:10To support the leisure sector, the main opposition parties have a range of proposals, including cuts on VAT for hospitality,
26:19reductions or abolition of business rates, and measures to revive UK high streets.
26:27In a statement, the Treasury said, at the budget, the government took action to bear down on inflation and the
26:33cost of living, £150 off energy bills, a freeze to railfares for the first time in 30 years, a freeze
26:42to prescription charges for the second year running, an increase to the national minimum and living wage.
26:48Adding, it also ended the two-child benefit cap, which will lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the
26:56end of this parliament.
27:04Visiting places like Tumble Jacks, Brew 32, the Sweatshed and the Forum Theatre, I'm struck by the role they play
27:14in the community.
27:15It's hard when a business closes on the high street and we're seeing that there's a knock-on effect.
27:21If the pub closes, you don't get the footfall, you're not getting people coming, the restaurant's impacted, the theatre's impacted.
27:28These are community venues. The people who they serve will be part of their local community.
27:34And if we lose them, we lose so much.
27:38Families and businesses across the UK have been feeling the squeeze.
27:44If it continues going up like it is doing, then I think we will have to cut back a lot.
27:51The priority for us as a household is paying the bills, keeping the house running and feeding and clothing the
27:56kids.
27:57And the steady increase in all those areas means there's less money to spend on those added extras.
28:02And with growing uncertainty about the impact of the war in the Middle East, things look set to get worse.
28:09I can't see much changing. I can't see things, prices coming down.
28:14I think we're going to have to just change how we budget things.
28:17With the world as it is at the minute, it's really hard to see where it ends.
28:23With predictions for economic growth looking more uncertain than ever, it could mean waiting even longer to enjoy some of
28:32life's little luxuries.
28:33For more information, please.
29:01For more information, please.
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