The British Takeaway Campaign (BTC) and its members are deeply disappointed to see the lack of diversity and representation for small businesses among the Hospitality Council members announced this morning. The Council membership is overwhelmingly focused on big, corporate chains, with little regard for the huge variety of cuisines, ethnically diverse entrepreneurs and independent business owners who make up the sector beyond London.

The BTC wrote to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy twice to make the case for small businesses needing greater representation on the Council, but ministers and officials failed to reply on both occasions.

The takeaway sector contributed £7.7 billion in value to the UK economy during 2020. Small businesses form the backbone of the industry, with over 70% of takeaways employing fewer than 10 staff.

Andrew Crook, Vice Chair of the British Takeaway Campaign, said:

“The Government are clearly not interested in the views and experiences of small, independent businesses. This Council is London-centric, big-business focused and seems to have been put together with very little consideration for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working, independent businesses who fought to survive the pandemic and served their communities throughout.”

The BTC represents independent restaurant and takeaway owners, through the respective trade association of each cuisine, ranging from the National Federation of Fish Friers to the Bangladeshi Caterers Association. Our members represent all corners of the UK and all types of cuisine, from Japanese and Lebanese to fish and chips from Yorkshire to kebabs, curries and Chinese, and are often first-time, small business owners from diverse backgrounds, entrepreneurs who are an engine of growth for the UK economy.