The “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme was an initiative by the Government to slash meal costs from Mondays to Wednesdays to support Fareham restaurants and food outlets participating in this scheme. The participating restaurants were providing a 50% discount on meals. 

This scheme received a great response with over 30,000 meals being claimed in Fareham under the scheme. With customers saving on average £5.87 per person, the total amount of discount claimed reached £174,000. 

Beyond Fareham, the number of claimed meals reached over a staggering 100 million, from 84,700 participatory establishments across the UK. 

This scheme was designed to support the hospitality industry to help it recuperate from the after-effects of the coronavirus. This scheme has helped protect 1.8 million jobs across the country. Restaurant bookings significantly escalated by an average of 52 percent on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays throughout the whole of August as compared to the same time in 2019.
 
While this scheme supported the hospitality industry, there have been other substantial efforts put forth by the Government to support other businesses and self-employed individuals. Here is a glimpse at how else the Government support has helped individuals and businesses in Fareham: 

• Job Retention Scheme: 13,500 jobs were protected with the Government providing up to 80 percent of the wages of furloughed workers.
 
• Self-employed: Government grants to the tune of £11,300,000 that need not be paid back.
 
• Bounce Back Loans: £46,818,151 has been paid out to local businesses 
 
• Non-refundable grants for businesses: Worth £17,187,500 have been handed out 
 
In such unprecedented circumstances, the National and Local Conservative Government has acted positively to help our local economy recover, protect jobs and help us all return to some normality. 

Our priority is you, and I am listening. If you have any suggestions on what we can do to help our local population - please get in touch.