Chancellor Rishi Sunak: Eat Out to Help Out has protected 1.8 million jobs

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has thanked the UK public for eating out during the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

Rishi Sunak has announced that over 100 million meals have been claimed under the scheme, which ran from Monday to Wednesday throughout August at eateries across the country.

The government has estimated that almost two million jobs have been protected through the scheme, which encouraged people to return to restaurants after lockdown.

As of midnight on August 31 over 100 million meals had been claimed. 84,700 establishments signed up to the scheme making claims worth £522m.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak commented: “From the get-go our mission has been to protect jobs, and to do this 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.

“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.”