The UK's coronavirus half-price meal scheme is ending, and may have cost the government $567 million

• The government-funded Eat Out to Help Out scheme offered diners 50% discounts in August at restaurants and cafes.
• Diners ate more than 80 million reduced meals, which cost the government around £400 million ($567 million), according to estimates provided to the Daily Mail.
• The scheme stopped Monday, but many restaurants are self-funding the discount throughout September.

The UK government's half-price dining scheme to encourage people to spend money at restaurants finished on Monday, with data suggesting diners got a combined £400 million ($567 million) off their meals.

Under the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, diners at eligible restaurants, cafes, and bars got half-price food and soft drink for eat-in meals on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. The discount, of up to £10 ($13.42) per person, was subsidized by the government, and around 84,000 food outlets signed up.

More than 80 million reduced meals were claimed in August, according to Treasury estimates given to the Daily Mail. At an average discount of £5 ($6.71) per meal, this suggests the scheme cost the UK government £400 million ($567 million). Diners spent up to six times more on Mondays than on weekends in August, according to data from finance app Yolt.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in August that the scheme supported around 1.8 million employees in the sector, after 80% of hospitality firms temporarily stopped trading during lockdown.

With that support now withdrawn, it's not clear what will happen next. Some restaurants and cafes are self-funding the discount so that customer numbers don't drop in September. This includes discount pub chain Wetherspoon, whose "Stay Out to Help Out" scheme will offer cheaper food and drink between Mondays and Wednesdays until mid-November.