Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of alcohol duty on levels of public health.

Treasury ministers and officials regularly engage with the Department of Health and Social Care on a variety of issues, including alcohol policy. The Treasury also engaged extensively with external stakeholders and other Government departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care, as part of the policy development and delivery process for the new alcohol reforms.

The Government has delivered on its commitment to review the outdated and complex alcohol duty system and introduced the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years. From 1 August 2023, all alcoholic products are now taxed by strength, putting public health at the heart of alcohol duty.

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms and will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market and public health, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data to evaluate the reform's effects.