Beer: Small Businesses

(asked on 18th August 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to ensure that breweries that produce between 2,101 and 5,000 hectolitres can compete with breweries that produce between (a) 5,001 and 10,000 and (b) 10,001 and 20,000 hectolitres.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 6th September 2021

The Treasury committed to reforming Small Brewers Relief (SBR) and our review of SBR is ongoing. A technical consultation was launched in January this year to help inform the Government’s review. The consultation document provides further information on the Government’s assessment of changes and we are currently analysing the responses.

The Treasury believes that reducing the starting taper from 5,000 to 2,100 hectolitres (880,000 pints a year to 370,000 pints a year) strikes a balance between guaranteeing the full value of the relief for truly small breweries, while providing those between the 2,100 to 5,000 hectolitres threshold a smoother transition to the main duty rate. Officials are continuing to work closely with HM Revenue and Customs to deliver a relief that is sustainable and supports brewers of all sizes in the long-term.

The Government has made it clear that changes to SBR will not come into effect until at least January 2022. We will consider the state of the industry as it recovers from Covid-19, and the need to provide sufficient time for brewers to adapt, before making any changes.

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