Business of the House

Andrew Jones Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

Of course, the Budget debate affords an opportunity to debate precisely those issues. I hope that the hon. Lady will take that opportunity to express her appreciation of the fact that by April 2014, the increase in personal allowances will have taken 3,071 of her constituents out of income tax altogether.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

After the positive news in yesterday’s Budget about the scrapping of the beer duty escalator and the other cuts in duty, I was contacted by my constituent Mr Simon Theakston, who runs the iconic Yorkshire brewing business of the same name. He said that the changes would be seen as a vote of confidence in the industry and trigger investment from it. May we have a debate about that great British institution, the pub, and its role in communities, especially in village life?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes; the House demonstrated its concern about that issue on 1 November last year, when it debated beer duty. It will no doubt do so again during the Budget debate and there will perhaps be further opportunities to debate the brewing industry and pubs, when the House will be able to share in the coalition Government’s recognition, through the Budget changes, of the importance of pubs not only as an industry but to local communities.