THE AVERAGE amount saved by Wokingham borough residents during the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was £5.89 per meal.
The scheme, which ran throughout August across the country, saw restaurants offer up to £10 discount on food and soft drinks for every diner. It has been so popular that some restaurants are offering similar discount schemes this month.
And the Government has said that more than 100 million meals were eaten as part of the scheme.
Of these, 39,000 were in Wokingham parliamentary constituency restaurants, 29,000 in Bracknell, 60,000 in Maidenhead and 90,000 in Reading East.
Across the four constituencies, all of which have parts in Wokingham borough, there were 303 different restaurants taking part, ranging from fast food outlets such as McDonald’s and KFC, to local businesses including Rossini’s, The Tamarind Tree and The Elephant.
The total discount claimed across the four constituencies was £1,308,000 – the data has not been broken down to borough council level.
Reading East had the largest participation, with 128 restaurants taking part, and the average saving of £6.30 per diner. Maidenhead had 77 restaurants and £5.92 saving, Wokingham had 58 restaurants and £5.75 saving, while Bracknell had 40 restaurants and a £5.58 saving.
These are not the final figures, as the restaurants have until the end of the month to claim back the 50% discount from the government.
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said that the scheme’s popularity had helped protect the 1.8 million people working in the hospitality sector and also boosted restaurant bookings across August, with the discounts exceeding expectations.
According to OpenTable data, restaurant bookings increased by an average of 53% on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the whole of August, compared to the same days in 2019. In July 2020, restaurant bookings were down 54% on average from Mondays to Wednesdays compared to 2019.
And on Bank Holiday Monday, the final day of the scheme, bookings were up 216% compared to the equivalent day in 2019.
Chancellor Sunak said: “The figures continue to show Eat Out to Help Out has been a success. I want to thank everyone, from restaurant owners to waiters, chefs and diners, for embracing it and helping drive our economic recovery.
“The scheme is just one part of our Plan for Jobs and we will continue to protect, support and create jobs to ensure we come back stronger as a nation.”
Other measures introduced by the chancellor include cutting VAT to 5% for the hospitality industry until the new year.
