Public Houses: Coronavirus

(asked on 9th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a national strategy for the disposal of spoiled beer being stored in pubs.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 17th June 2020

Defra and the Environment Agency are working with Water UK, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), BEIS, and HMRC to facilitate the safe and efficient management of spoiled beer from pub cellars in England (as water policy is a devolved matter). Beer is a polluting substance to the water environment, so a coordinated approach to the disposal of spoiled beer is important in ensuring there is no environmental damage and that sewerage infrastructure is not overloaded, while also supporting publicans in their preparations to reopen.

This coordinated approach must acknowledge that the capacity of individual wastewater treatment works to process spoiled beer varies across the sewer network. It is because of this variation in capacity that a common national strategy for beer disposal is not appropriate. The water industry has asked publicans to inform them of where, and how much, beer needs to be disposed of so that they can issue disposal guidance to reflect local circumstances. Water companies are working to streamline the application process and minimise response times so that requests from publicans are dealt with efficiently. Defra have confirmed with Water UK that water companies will be waiving the usual charge to publicans for disposing of spoilt beer to public sewers.

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