Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the changes to the rates of Alcohol Duty on the wine industry.

The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the assessment of impacts from changes to the duty rates made at the Spring Budget 2023.

The Government had to make some tough decisions at Spring Budget in line with its commitment to managing the UK economy responsibly. However, prior to this, the wine industry has benefitted from freezes at 4 out of the last 5 fiscal events. Further, through the Government’s historic alcohol duty reforms, we are standardising the treatment of still and sparkling wine, providing a substantial duty cut for sparkling wine. In addition, lighter wines below 10.4% will pay less duty from 1 August.