The Eat Out to Help Out scheme helped push the UK’s inflation rate down to a five-year low in August says the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The VAT cut in the hospitality sector from 20% to 5% was also a factor.
Consumer prices rose by 0.2% in annual terms in August, the smallest increase since December 2015 and a sharp slowdown from July’s 1.0% increase. The ONS said this was unprecedented for August, which is usually the peak month of the holiday season.
Eat Out to Help Out ran from Monday to Wednesday in August, offered 50% off food up to the value of £10, and discounts for more than 100 million meals were claimed.
Prices in restaurants and cafes were down 2.6% compared with August last year, their first fall since records began in 1989.