English Whisky: Single Malt Definition
Debate between John Glen and Stephen Morgan(6 days, 23 hours ago)
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Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend is a real champion on these issues, and I pay tribute to him for the work that he does with the farming community in his constituency. He is absolutely right that this strengthens the links between farming and distilling, and it will ensure that more of the value generated remains within the UK’s rural communities. It is a significant vote of confidence in British agriculture and the quality of British-grown cereals, particularly our world-renowned barley growers.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
I visited Witchmark distillery in Fonthill in my constituency a year or so ago. The people at the distillery had gone to considerable lengths to match the standards that they saw in Scotland on a single site, and are putting down whisky casks and growing a significant business, as well as providing a significant number of jobs in this rural constituency. I am concerned about the differentiation of standards, which the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) spoke about. Could the Minister reassure the House that the appropriate high standards for this growing class of goods will be protected?
Stephen Morgan
It will have no impact on standards that any other UK whiskies have set for themselves. They all vary across the United Kingdom, but I will certainly take the right hon. Gentleman’s points back to the Department.