Beer Duty Escalator

Christopher Pincher Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Griffiths]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. He is absolutely right. Some 85% of pubs across this country are small and medium-sized enterprises—small businesses that are trickling that economic impact down into our communities.

I draw the hon. Gentleman’s attention to the statistics released today by CAMRA, which show that there is an alarming increase in the number of pub closures. We all thought that we had seen the back of the bad old days in 2010 when 26 pubs per week were closing, once the figure had fallen to 12 per week. However, the new figures released by CAMRA show that 18 pubs per week are closing. That means that since March this year some 450 pubs have closed, and since the introduction of the beer duty escalator in 2008 some 5,800 pubs have closed.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

A regrettable statistic—and I remember the days—is that one used to be able to buy six pints for a fiver. [Interruption.] I did not drink them all, I might say; I was buying a round. Since then, the cost of beer has increased and, as my hon. Friend says, the number of pubs that have gone to the wall and are going to the wall is increasing. As a result, revenue to the Exchequer is falling. Does he agree that the beer duty escalator is not simply raising money? It is losing money for the Exchequer.

[Andrew Griffiths]

My hon. Friend has put his finger on the nub of the problem. I want to remind the House that when the then Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling), introduced the beer duty escalator he said that,

“as incomes have risen, alcohol has become increasingly more affordable…In order to ensure that alcohol duties keep pace with rising incomes, alcohol duty rates will increase by 2 per cent above the rate of inflation”.