Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the public health impact of Scotch Whisky distillers producing hand sanitiser for their local communities.

Scotch Whisky producers are just some of the many businesses across Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom that have come up with new and innovative ways to battle the coronavirus, and supported wider efforts to tackle the pandemic.

The many donations from local distilleries to the NHS provided huge quantities of hand sanitiser to keep frontline health and care workers safe. Scotch Whisky distillers joined by other distillers have not just helped their local communities in Scotland, but their manufacturing of hand sanitiser has helped all parts of the United Kingdom.

This was an initiative coordinated by the Scotch Whisky Association, which many distilleries participated in. The initiative has helped protect the health of millions of people in communities across Scotland. HMRC worked with the Scotch Whisky Association to allow distillers to manufacture sanitiser without needing to pay duty on the alcohol in it, when it has been made to WHO specifications.