Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing Draught Duty Relief to 20% on (a) pubs and (b) small and independent brewers.

Draught Relief, introduced under the new alcohol duty system, provides a reduction in the duty on draught products and helps to level the playing field between pubs and supermarkets, allowing pubs and brewers to price their on-trade products more competitively. The Brexit Pubs Guarantee ensures that draught products will always be subject to lower duty than their supermarket equivalent.

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms, including Draught Relief, 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 for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate the effects of the reform.

As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.