Your Friday-night takeaway contributes to an industry which adds nearly half a billion pounds a year to the East of England economy, and supports 25,000 jobs.

The figures have been released by a new umbrella body which has been launched today to represent the sector, the British Takeaway Campaign (BTC). It comes a day before the publication of the Taylor Review, a report expected to focus on the controversial employment practices of companies including food couriers Deliveroo.

The BTC said the East of England spent £957m on takeaways last year, generating £438m in gross value added (GVA), with pizza and other Italian food topping the list of choices for customers, ahead of Chinese and kebabs.

It said each household spent an average of £7.11 week on takeaways, equivalent to £31 a month – or 11% of their regular outlay on food.

Nationally, takeaways contributed £4.5bn in GVA contributions to UK GDP in 2016, said the report. With the multiplier effect of supply-chain and employee spending, the figure rose to £9.4bn.

But despite 41,000 jobs having been created in the sector since 2009, the campaign said many smaller business were facing challenges such as skills shortages, rising business rates and inflation.

It has called on the government to:

• Ensure vocational training is relevant to the industry and addresses skills shortages in cuisines like curry, sushi, Chinese and fish frying;

• Ensure the immigration system enables the takeaway sector to access the skills it needs from within and outside of the EU. For example, by revising the Occupational Shortage List to include specialist chefs in shortage cuisines, such as curry, who are seeking employment in takeaway restaurants.

• Overhaul the current business rates regime to make it fairer and more transparent, including more frequent revaluations.

The report was released the day before the Taylor Review is expected to be published.

The review, conducted by former Downing Street adviser Matthew Taylor, is to report back on how employment law can keep up with changing business models, in particular digital platforms such as Deliveroo and ride-hailing app Uber.

Both companies have come in for criticism for not offering workers – who they say are self-employed and enjoy the flexibility of choosing their hours – the benefits full employees are entitled to, such as sick pay and holiday leave.

Restaurateur Ibrahim Dogus, chair of the campaign, said: 'The takeaway industry has transformed the high street and the British palate – from fish and chips to the latest fusion food.

'The thousands of takeaways across the East of England make a huge contribution to the region's jobs and growth. But many are being hamstrung by skills shortages, rising food and wage costs, and business rates.

'We want to get more young British people fired up about working in this exciting industry by ensuring they get the right training and skills to help this thriving industry continue to grow.'