Licensed Trade Charity gives over £3.3m during pandemic

The Licensed Trade Charity (LTC) has given over £3.3m in grants and services since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, helping over 120,000 people and providing a boost to the licensed sector given the significant trading challenges of the last two years. 

The LTC, which is dedicated to supporting workers in the on-trade, has today (24 January) released figures for 2021, showing that the organisation helped over 46,000 people with grants and services worth over £1.7m last year alone. 

The charity, which was established in 1793, supports people from across the licensed drinks trade, and has seen growth in awareness and demand for free support. 

The LTC launched a free app last November, whioch saw over 510 downloads in December, giving users direct access to the charity's support and services. 

Mental health remains one of the most significant issues facing the sector today, with the charity's free helpline reporting a 40% surge in calls for emotional support and counselling compared to 2020. 

Paula Smith, head of marketing at the LTC, comments: "We know from our own on-trade research, carried out by KAM Media in November 2021, that people across the sector have found it more challenging to maintain good mental wellbeing during the last 12 months – 45% of respondents said that their mental health had been negatively impacted since the start of Covid-19. 

"Licensed hospitality people are a resilient bunch and despite the struggles for many, 61% of respondents highlighted that keeping in regular contact with colleagues, friends and family had positively impacted their mental wellbeing and one in five said that increasing their physical activity and taking part in mindfulness activities had also had a positive impact."

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