THE chancellor has thanked Britons for helping protect thousands of jobs across the UK after figures revealed just how many meals were eaten as part of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

More than 145,000 meals were eaten in Herefordshire as part of the scheme, which offered half price food and drinks Mondays to Wednesdays during August, up to £10 per person.

Figures released by the Government show how many meals were eaten in each constituency, with the number still expected to rise as not all claims have yet been made by businesses.

Values for total number of covers claimed for and total amount of discount claimed have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

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Hereford and South Herefordshire topped the chart of local constituencies as 91,000 meals 120 participating restaurants have been claimed for as of August 27. Diners saved a whopping £513,000.

Monmouth is currently in second place with 82,000 meals claimed for at 115 registered restaurants, leading to savings of £460,000.

Third is Ludlow with 80,000 meals claimed for at 142 restaurants. A total of £466,000 has been saved in the latest data.

Table of six local areas

More than 100 million meals were eaten across the UK as part of the landmark Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and chancellor Rishi Sunak said the scheme’s popularity had helped protect the livelihoods of the 1.8 million people working in the hospitality sector and drive the nation’s economic recover from coronavirus.

With the scheme excelling expectations, by midnight on August 31 more than 100 million meals were eaten by diners, with the 84,700 establishments signed up to the scheme making 130,000 claims worth £522 million, meaning more jobs are being protected through people getting out and boosting the economy.

These numbers are likely to grow, with restaurants having until the end of September to claim back the 50 per cent government-funded discount applied to bills.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “From the get-go our mission has been to protect jobs- and to do this we needed 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.”

According to OpenTable data, restaurant bookings increased by an average of 53 per cent 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 per cent on average from Mondays to Wednesdays compared to 2019.

On 31 August - the final day of the scheme - bookings were up 216 per cent compared to the equivalent day in 2019.

And early signs show that despite ending, the scheme has continued to boost demand, with a 2 per cent rise in restaurant bookings on Tuesday 1 September compared to the equivalent day in 2019, according to OpenTable.

There had been an upward trend in the scheme’s popularity since it launched, with 10.5 million meals claimed for in total in the first week, 35 million meals in the second, 64 million in the third and over 100 million by 31 August.

The scheme was used across the entire UK, with over 6 million meals claimed for in Scotland, over 2 million in both Wales and Northern Ireland and over 51 million meals claimed for in England by 27 August.