Chancellor Rishi Sunak praised the British beauty industry for being the best of British business and for providing an essential service throughout the pandemic as he opened British Beauty Week in London’s Covent Garden on Wednesday.
Speaking to an audience at the start of five-day event, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, said: “Thank you for everything you have done to keep going over the last year. The beauty industry is the best of British business: you are creative, entrepreneurial and innovative – no wonder you are worth £30 billion to the UK economy.
“If anyone ever doubted, the pandemic brought home that the services you all provide are essential services – something we recognised in government when we reopened beauty services much earlier than lots of other businesses. Because what you give people is something that is impossible to measure in all the spreadsheets that I see – confidence, self-esteem and a sense of well-being. That is no small feat and I applaud you for it.”
The Chancellor’s visit to British Beauty Week comes after three years of work by the British Beauty Council to engage politicians and business leaders about the value of British beauty to the national economy, and its key role in the UK’s creative and cultural character.
Since its inception in 2018, the British Beauty Council has proven itself the champion of the beauty industry providing financial guidance and support to hundreds of thousands of workers. This included winning an extra £500m of government-backed support during the pandemic.
Victoria Brownlie, Chief of Policy at the British Beauty Council, said: “The Chancellor’s endorsement of our industry this week cements our work to be recognised within Westminster as the driven, entrepreneurial and world-leading dynamic sector we are. Building on our relationship with them, we can now continue working with Government on issues around international trade, sustainability, diversity and inclusion – and building opportunities for fulfilling, lifelong careers within the beauty industry.”