Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK can apply any duty rate on alcoholic beverages in Northern Ireland which are below the EU minimum rate.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The same alcohol duty rates apply across the whole UK. The new alcohol duty system was implemented on 1 August 2023 and moves all alcohol to taxation by strength for the first time. The rates were set at the right level to support businesses and meet public health objectives.

We have implemented these broad reforms across the whole of the UK: taxation by strength, Draught Relief, and Small Producer Relief. This was impossible in Northern Ireland under the original Protocol. The Windsor Framework secured substantive, legally binding changes to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as apply in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing alcohol duty for independent wine merchants.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced that alcohol duty will be frozen until 1 February 2025 to support alcohol producers, pubs, and consumers with cost of living pressures. This extends the six month freeze the Government announced at Autumn Statement 2023 to give businesses time to adapt to the new duty system introduced on 1 August 2023.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, published on 6 March 2024, whether he made an assessment with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the potential impact of freezing alcohol duty on public health.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Treasury ministers and officials regularly engage with the Department of Health and Social Care on a variety of issues, including alcohol policy.

The Treasury also engaged extensively with external stakeholders and other Government departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care, as part of the policy development and delivery process for the new alcohol reforms.

The Government has delivered on its commitment to review the outdated and complex alcohol duty system and introduced the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years. From 1 August 2023, all alcoholic products are now taxed by strength.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of raising alcohol duty.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department regularly engages with HM Treasury on issues of duty in relation to public health. The Government has already delivered on its commitment to review the outdated and complex alcohol duty system and introduced the biggest reform of alcohol duties in 140 years. As of 1 August 2023, all alcohol is now taxed by strength, putting public health at the heart of alcohol duty. This is helping to target problem drinking by taxing products associated with alcohol-related harm at a higher rate of duty.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the impact on excise duty receipts of the duty rates for wine and spirits introduced on 1 August 2023.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook report in November 2023. The publication contained an alcohol duty revenue forecast up to and including 2028-29 and was inclusive of all previous and planned future changes to alcohol duty rates including the changes to wine and spirits duty rates on 1 August 2023.

Table 2.12 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Economic and Fiscal Outlook report contains separate receipt forecasts by type of alcohol.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of changes to alcohol duty implemented in August 2023 on tax receipts.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes tax information and impact notes for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the changes to alcohol duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-rate-changes

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms 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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of alcohol duty on levels of public health.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Treasury ministers and officials regularly engage with the Department of Health and Social Care on a variety of issues, including alcohol policy. The Treasury also engaged extensively with external stakeholders and other Government departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care, as part of the policy development and delivery process for the new alcohol reforms.

The Government has delivered on its commitment to review the outdated and complex alcohol duty system and introduced the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years. From 1 August 2023, all alcoholic products are now taxed by strength, putting public health at the heart of alcohol duty.

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms 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 public health, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data to evaluate the reform's effects.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of changes to alcohol duty implemented in August 2023 on tax receipts.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes tax information and impact notes for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the changes to alcohol duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increase-in-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-uprating

The Government 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 in the alcohol market and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of further measures to support (a) SME, (b) independent and (c) other wine and spirits businesses with high-street presence in the context of (i) the increase in alcohol duty brought in in August 2023 and (ii) the end of business rates relief at the end of the 2023-24 financial year.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has undertaken the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years and has introduced a new, simplified alcohol duty system based on the common-sense principle of taxing alcohol by strength. The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the reforms 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.

At Autumn Statement 2022 the Government announced an increased 75% relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-24. This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops and pubs.

Decisions on future business rates support will be made in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has met representatives of (a) SME and (b) independent wine businesses since the changes to alcohol duty introduced in August 2023.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Treasury ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 25 October 2023 to Question 203613 on Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward its formal evaluation of alcohol duty increases in the context of consumer price inflation for alcohol.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has undertaken the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years and has introduced a new, simplified alcohol duty system based on the common-sense principle of taxing alcohol by strength.

The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the reforms and will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023.

The Government thinks it is right to allow time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate. However, the Government engages regularly with stakeholders to understand market conditions and keeps all taxes under review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department gathers on the potential impact of alcohol duty increases on SME (a) winemakers and (b) spirits producers.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the latest changes to alcohol duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-rate-changes and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-of-the-alcohol-duty-system/reform-of-alcohol-duty-rates-and-reliefs

The Government has undertaken the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years and has introduced a new, simplified alcohol duty system based on the common-sense principle of taxing alcohol by strength. The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the reforms 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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the alcohol duty increases announced in August 2023 on inflation.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the latest changes to alcohol duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-rate-changes and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-of-the-alcohol-duty-system/reform-of-alcohol-duty-rates-and-reliefs

The Government has undertaken the biggest reform of alcohol duties for over 140 years and has introduced a new, simplified alcohol duty system based on the common-sense principle of taxing alcohol by strength. The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the reforms 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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the August 2023 changes to alcohol duty on inflation.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the latest changes to alcohol duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increase-in-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-uprating

The Government will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes. Which came into place 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts in the alcohol market and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times he met spirits distillers to discuss the August 2023 changes to alcohol duty.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government consulted extensively and took account of evidence from a wider range of stakeholders, including spirits producers, and a variety of data sets as part of the tax policy making process on the new alcohol duty system. The response to the final consultation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1145222/M5209_M5348_Alcohol_Duty_Review_consultation_response_FINAL.pdf.

HM Treasury keeps all taxes, including alcohol duties, under review and welcomes stakeholders' views as part of the annual Budget representations process. Guidance on submitting Budget representations is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2023-representations/guidance-for-submitting-autumn-statement-2023-representations-to-the-treasury

Stakeholders can make representations, which form part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s considerations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the level of alcohol duty on the financial viability of pubs.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes when the policy is final or near final. The summary of impacts from the latest changes to alcohol duty at Spring Budget 2023 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increase-in-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-uprating