Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number of jobs supported by the beer and pub sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pubs and brewers make a significant contribution to our economy and society, including through supporting jobs, and this is recognised in the tax system.
According to the Office for National Statistics' 2023 Business Register and Employment Survey, there were 21,000 people employed in the manufacture of beer and 474,000 people employed in public houses and bars across Great Britain.
The alcohol duty system supports pubs and hospitality businesses through Draught Relief, which ensures eligible products served on draught pay less duty. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This is the equivalent to a 1p reduction on a typical pint.
The Chancellor has also confirmed her intention to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs, with rateable values below £500,000 from April 2026. This will help protect the jobs supported by the pub sector.
There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289061940. The World Health Organization and other public health bodies are clear that duty rates have a role to play in achieving public health objectives.
Treasury ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events. The Government welcomes representations from the beer and pub sectors in advance of the Budget.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the BBC Board on the broadcasting of (a) Bob Vylan and (b) Kneecap during the coverage of the Glastonbury Festival 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State was clear in her statement to Parliament that the scenes from the Bob Vylan performance at Glastonbury were utterly appalling and unacceptable. This Government will not tolerate antisemitism – it has absolutely no place in our society and we will be unrelenting in our work to root it out and it should not be given a platform.
The BBC is editorially independent, and decisions on what content to broadcast, and how they broadcast that content, are a matter for the BBC. However, it is right that the BBC has acknowledged that the livestream of the performance should have come off air and that they are reviewing their guidance. There remain very serious questions at the highest levels of the BBC about operational oversight and the way in which editorial standards are implemented.
As set out to Parliament, the Secretary of State has spoken to both the BBC Director General and Chair directly and has written to the Chair to ask for an urgent and detailed explanation about what immediate steps they intend to take. We expect answers to these questions without delay and expect lessons to be learned and rapid action to be taken.
Ofcom is also in the process of obtaining further information from the BBC as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.
Charter Review will consider editorial standards for the BBC. The Government will also build on the Media Act and Ofcom’s Public Service Media review by taking action to support public service media and the wider television ecosystem. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government will update the policy and regulatory framework to respond to the changing market and promote a more level playing field, while maintaining universal access to distinctive and trusted public service content. This work will complement the BBC Charter Review.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people stranded in Tel Aviv.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority. Since the beginning of this crisis, when Israeli airspace closed, we deployed specialist teams to the Egyptian and Jordanian borders to support British nationals wishing to leave Israel by land and facilitate their onward travel. When Israeli airspace opened on 24 June we worked at pace to ensure those who wanted to leave Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could do so, with six evacuation flights leaving Israel.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support residents of rural 1950s properties to use alternative fuels to heat their homes; and if he will take steps to reduce the VAT rate on fuel for those unable to install heat pumps.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For most off-grid properties, transitioning to clean heat will involve installing a heat pump as these are cost-effective, proven technologies. The Government expect sustainable biomass to be prioritised where there are limited alternatives for decarbonisation. Renewable liquid heating fuels are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.
Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstock.
The tax treatment of renewable liquid fuels is a matter for Treasury.