Beer Duty Escalator

Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Gavin Williamson

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend makes a valid point about the impact on jobs in the industry of the beer duty escalator, which I was coming on to. In my constituency of South Staffordshire, 1,286 people are employed in breweries and pubs—whether in the fantastic brewery of Enville, the brewery of Kinver, the Morton brewery in Essington, the Marston’s brewery in neighbouring Wolverhampton, or in the 86 pubs scattered across the constituency. Unfortunately, however, these pubs have declined in the last few years, and I am afraid that the beer duty escalator has had an impact in that respect.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that a sensible way of helping pubs might be to lower the duty on draught beer but raise it on canned beer?

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend is not known as a visionary—I believe that his new wife often refers to him thus—for nothing. I hope that the Minister is noting his ideas eagerly, and will recommend them to the Treasury as a host of examples of radical new thinking that could improve and support our breweries and pubs.