More than £1.3 million spent on Eat out to Help Out meals in Sunderland

Anyone eating at participating outlets, Monday to Wednesday during August 2020, could have a Government-funded 50% discount on food and soft drinks, up to a maximum of £10, with restaurants claiming the money back.

The figures show a total of 182 Sunderland outlets registering for the scheme, with £1,319,000 being claimed for 228,000 meals. This averages at £5.79 per meal.

The statistics were provided for each of the UK’s parliamentary constituencies. Sunderland has three. The average claimed in Houghton and Sunderland South was £6.77 per meal.

In Sunderland Central it was £6.68, but just £3.95 in Washington and Sunderland West. Of the 182 participating outlets, 105 were in Sunderland Central.

In the Easington constituency, which includes Seaham and Peterlee, 55 outlets claimed £374,000 for 65,000 meals, averaging £5.75 per meal.

Across the North East 2,467 outlets registered with £14,454,000 being claimed for 2,413,000 meals, an average of £5.99 per meal. The UK average is £5.79 with the highest in Essex constituency Rayleigh and Wickford at £8.22 per meal.

Nationally 70,666 outlets have claimed £363 million for 63 million meals. However, the statistics only include businesses with 25 or fewer participating outlets. The figures increase considerably when major chains are taken into account.

The Treasury says restaurants have so far made around 130,000 claims worth £522m, with figures set to rise as claims can be made until the end of September.

Eat Out to Help Out was introduced in response to alarming figures for the restaurant industry. Monday to Wednesday bookings in July 2020 were down 54% on compared with the previous year.

According to OpenTable, the final day of the scheme Monday, August 31 saw a 216% rise in bookings against the equivalent day in 2019.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the BBC: "We needed to be creative, brave and try things that no government has ever done before.

“Today's 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.”

This is how much was claimed through the Eat Out to Help Out deal across the North East:

Newcastle upon Tyne Central - £1,977,000Newcastle upon Tyne East - £1,153,000City of Durham - £927,000Berwick-upon-Tweed - £826,000Sunderland Central - £735,000Hexham - £622,000South Shields - £451,000North Durham - £392,000Stockton North - £378,000Easington - £374,000Hartlepool - £365,000Washington and Sunderland West - £300,000Houghton and Sunderland South - £284,000Jarrow - £200,000

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Sunderland Echo website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.