LONDON - Britain will extend a cut to value-added tax (VAT) for cafes, restaurants and hotels by six months until Sept. 30 to support a hospitality sector hammered by COVID-19 lockdowns, finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday.

A reduction in VAT for these sectors to 5% from 20% began last July and had been due to expire on March 31.

"(After Sept. 30) we won’t go straight back to the 20% rate. We’ll have an interim rate of 12.5% for another six months; not returning to the standard rate until April next year," Sunak told parliament during a statement on the outlook for the economy.

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Michael Holden) ((james.davey@thomsonreuters.com))