Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average Alcohol By Volume is of each product produced by (a) small brewers and (b) small cider producers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will introduce a new Small Producer Relief, building on the success of Small Brewers Relief, for cidermakers and other producers of lower alcohol by volume (ABV) drinks, to encourage innovation and remove barriers to growth for small producers.
Small brewers and cidermakers produce at a range of ABVs. The strength of the products of small producers will vary according to their individual business model.
Small cidermakers producing 70 hectolitres or less in a 12-month consecutive period are exempted from the requirement to register with HMRC for duty purposes. The Government therefore holds no records on the numbers of these businesses.
Under the proposals published at Budget, brewers that also produce spirits will be required to attribute spirits production to their total production amount.
We will be publishing the Government’s response to the consultation on the alcohol duty review, including Small Producer’s Relief, later in the year.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of cider producers that qualify for the small cidermakers exemption.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will introduce a new Small Producer Relief, building on the success of Small Brewers Relief, for cidermakers and other producers of lower alcohol by volume (ABV) drinks, to encourage innovation and remove barriers to growth for small producers.
Small brewers and cidermakers produce at a range of ABVs. The strength of the products of small producers will vary according to their individual business model.
Small cidermakers producing 70 hectolitres or less in a 12-month consecutive period are exempted from the requirement to register with HMRC for duty purposes. The Government therefore holds no records on the numbers of these businesses.
Under the proposals published at Budget, brewers that also produce spirits will be required to attribute spirits production to their total production amount.
We will be publishing the Government’s response to the consultation on the alcohol duty review, including Small Producer’s Relief, later in the year.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many small producers that produce multiple alcoholic products will be effected by the introduction of small producer relief.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government intends to introduce a new Small Producers Relief to replace the existing Small Brewers Relief. The new relief will include beer, cider, wine and spirits-based drinks below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). It aims to encourage innovation and remove barriers growth for small producers.
This change will benefit hundreds of small producers across the UK by giving them access to reduce rates for the first time, across a wider range of products.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to support exporters in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Government is committed to supporting Northern Ireland exporters, who I regularly visit.
Through the New Deal, we have invested £8 million to expand Invest NI’s presence overseas.
I am pleased that exporters, including some who I have visited such as Armagh Cider Company, Mash Direct, and Kiverco, are reaching out to access the specialist support offered by the DIT hub in Northern Ireland, which also includes access to the Export Academy, to help businesses trade globally.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the increased excise duty rates for ciders above 4.6 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) on breweries that produce cider above 4.6 per cent ABV in relation to (a) the need to change recipes, labels and point of sale materials and (b) the costs involved to change to 4.8 per cent ABV; and if he will make it his policy not to increase excise duty on ciders below 5.6 per cent ABV.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Chancellor announced a number of reforms to modernise and improve the tax system for cider from February 2023.
As part of this, the Government intends to move to a taxation system which taxes cider on the basis of its alcohol content. This will result in higher strength ciders – which are currently undertaxed – paying duty in proportion to strength. The Treasury considers the impact this will have on business decision-making difficult to estimate, as different businesses will have different business models. We will continue to engage with industry as our review progresses and value feedback on this point.
Regarding flavoured ciders, the Government has decided to keep the existing cider category and its substantially lower rate to remain focused on traditional cider, recognising the part cider producers play in local economies and the cultural value attached to cider. Therefore, there are no plans to equalise flavoured and non-flavoured cider duty rates at this stage.
Further detail about the impact of our alcohol duty reforms on cidermakers, including breweries that produce cider, will be included in a tax information and impact note when the policy is final, or near final, in the usual way.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the classification of flavoured cider being classified as wine; what comparative assessment his Department has made of the impact on cider breweries in relation to 4 per cent ABV flavoured cider, which has a duty charge of approximately 90p/litre, compared with the standard rate of cider which is approximately 40p/litre; and if he will make it his policy to classify flavoured cider as standard cider.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Chancellor announced a number of reforms to modernise and improve the tax system for cider from February 2023.
As part of this, the Government intends to move to a taxation system which taxes cider on the basis of its alcohol content. This will result in higher strength ciders – which are currently undertaxed – paying duty in proportion to strength. The Treasury considers the impact this will have on business decision-making difficult to estimate, as different businesses will have different business models. We will continue to engage with industry as our review progresses and value feedback on this point.
Regarding flavoured ciders, the Government has decided to keep the existing cider category and its substantially lower rate to remain focused on traditional cider, recognising the part cider producers play in local economies and the cultural value attached to cider. Therefore, there are no plans to equalise flavoured and non-flavoured cider duty rates at this stage.
Further detail about the impact of our alcohol duty reforms on cidermakers, including breweries that produce cider, will be included in a tax information and impact note when the policy is final, or near final, in the usual way.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, If he will make it his policy that a minimum 85 per cent juice threshold is required for a product to be taxed and sold as cider.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the close of our alcohol duty review consultation on 30 January 2022, the Government is now analysing responses and is continuing to engage with industry on both points.
The Government understands that some cidermakers are interested in increasing the minimum juice content. However, others have raised concerns that this would disrupt business as usual for some cidermakers and may incentivise producers to import apples cheaply from overseas. It is therefore important we continue to explore different arguments before making any final decisions.
We are also engaging with brewers on the qualifying criteria for draught relief. While it is our intention for the relief to apply to a range of brewers, we must ensure that the relief remains targeted on pubs and other hospitality venues. This is to ensure that drinks benefiting from the relief are those used by venues rather than for personal use by consumers.
We are continuing to consult on these proposals and will provide further updates on the alcohol duty review in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of lowered alcohol duty on (a) beer, (b) cider and (c) other alcoholic beverages on rates of harmful drinking among (i) young people and (ii) other age groups in the UK.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Treasury has consulted public health groups on the impact of duty rates on harmful drinking as part of our alcohol duty review, and continues to monitor emerging evidence on this point.
For example, as set out in the summary of responses to the call for evidence published in October 2021, public health groups cited the correlation between cheap, high strength spirits (such as vodka) and alcohol-related harms, as the volume of drink needed to reach intoxication is smaller with higher strength drinks.
In response, the Treasury announced at Autumn Budget 2021 it would move to a new system that taxes all products in reference to the litres of pure alcohol they contain, as is currently the case for spirits. We have also announced a reduced rate for products of a lower alcohol by volume (ABV), to incentivise the production and consumption of lower strength drinks.
Further detail about the impact of our alcohol duty reforms on public health will be included in a tax information and impact note when the policy is final, or near final, in the usual way.
Asked by: Viscount Astor (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the loss of (1) tax revenue, and (2) Horse Racing Levy income, due to illegal online gambling.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
(1) The information requested is not available: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not make an estimate of the amount of revenue lost through illegal online gambling.
HMRC estimates the tax gap[1], the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. For the tax year 2019 to 2020, the other excise duties tax gap, which includes betting and gaming, cider and perry, spirits-based ready-to-drink beverages and wine duties was £610 million.
(2) The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB)[2] is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; and is required to collect a statutory levy, the Horserace Betting Levy. The information requested is not available from HMRC.
[1] Tax gap statistics are available at: Measuring tax gaps - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
[2] Horserace Betting Levy Board has a separate website: https://www.hblb.org.uk/
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Government’s proposed changes to alcohol excise duty on duty receipts from (a) beer, (b) cider, (c) spirits and (d) wine and sparkling wine made from fresh grapes; if he will place a copy of this assessment in the Library; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Costings for this policy were announced at Autumn Budget 2021 and can be accessed via the following link on page 12: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1029980/Policy_Costings_Document_FINAL.pdf
The Treasury is continuing to engage with the UK wine industry on these reforms and is interested in understanding the administrative and economic impacts on businesses.
Further detail about the impact of alcohol duty reforms on industry will be included in a tax information and impact note when the policy is final, or near final, in the usual way.