A VAT cut for the hospitality and tourism sector was introduced on Wednesday as the government helps restaurants, pubs and hotels get back on their feet after three months of being closed.

The government has introduced a 15% VAT cut on food and soft drinks for those in the hospitality industry. Before Wednesday, VAT was at 20% on those items but it has now been slashed to just 5%. The scheme will last until January 2021. It is up to each business to decide whether or not to pass the discount onto the customer or to use the money to help them get back on their feet after months of being shut.

Eric Tavernier, chef at Les Enfants Terribles in Weymouth, said: "The VAT cut is going to help not just me but all of us across the country. It is an extremely good plan. It will be a big help for me.

"I am fully booked at the moment but it is not the same as normal. Normally I would have 50 customers in the restaurant at once but we cannot do that anymore. I am only able to have 25 customers in now because of social distancing rules and I am having to pay more staff to do the additional cleaning so the extra money we can save from paying less VAT will be helpful.

"This money will be used to recover the losses over the last few months. Restaurants like us who only have a small window in the summer to make most of our money need to do well if we are going to survive the winter. Any discount in prices that we are able to pass onto the customer we will."

Bob Rezaei, owner of Crustacean, said of the VAT cut: "It is really good news and it is going to help us a lot. We are working on 50% capacity at the moment so every little helps and we are very grateful. The money we save will help the business to have less outgoings.

"This is a really good move by the government."

Wetherspoons customers are in for a treat as the VAT cut from the business is being passed down to them as prices on food and soft drinks get cut by 15%.

Michael Costello, manager at The William Henry in Weymouth, said: "The VAT cut is good for us and good for the customers as we are passing on the discount to them. Customers are responding really well to it so far.

"The government have put it into place to get the hospitality industry to bounce back and, as far as I can tell, it is working really well. If it helps gets customers spending money then that is great for us getting our business back up and running and helpful with our job retention so it's great for everyone."