BRADFORD diners cashed in on more than £6.7 million worth of restaurant food in August, taking advantage of the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

More than a million meals were claimed on the scheme, which lasted 13 days in August, at a cost to the taxpayer of £516,615 a day for Bradford alone, and £47 million a day for the UK.

The scheme was designed to give the hospitality industry a much-needed boost and to try and get the economy moving again, but its success has been debated and it was found to have led to a rise in Covid-19 infections.

New data published by the Government has revealed that in the Bradford district, 456 restaurants with 25 or fewer sites took part in the scheme, claiming for a total of 1,085,000 meals and a total discount of £6,716,000.

The average amount of discount claimed per outlet was £14,700, and the average discount per meal was calculated at £6.19, 43p above the national average.

The map below shows figures for each part of Bradford, as well as surrounding areas.

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The Bradford area which claimed the most was the Bradford West constituency, which includes the city centre and part of Great Horton Road, areas with a high concentration of restaurants.

A total of 153 Restaurants in Bradford West claimed just shy of £2.8 million on 439,000 meals.

It was followed by Bradford East, which has the restaurant hub of Leeds Road and also independent outlets in Idle, Greengates and Apperley Bridge, where 68 restaurants claimed on 235,000 meals, for a total of £1.5 million.

Third on the list was Keighley constituency, which includes the town itself as well as Ilkley and Haworth. A total of £1.4 million was claimed by 123 restaurants, for 236,000 meals.

Nationally, a total of 59,981 restaurants claimed for 106,533,154 meals at a total cost to the taxpayer of £611,674,038.

In Yorkshire & the Humber, more than 5,000 restaurants took part, claiming on 9.36 million meals at a cost to the taxpayer of £52.8m.

Yorkshire was the fifth costliest region, behind London (£105.8m), the South East (£72.5m), the North West (£72.2m), and the South West (£58m).