Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government makes funding available to support businesses producing alcoholic beverages.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government values the important contribution that the alcohol industry makes to our economy and society, and the new duty system, introduced on 1 August 2023, contains many benefits for alcohol producers, including two new reliefs.
The new Small Producers Relief means that small producers now see reduced duty rates on all products below 8.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) up to a production threshold.
The new Draught Relief means that all alcoholic products under 8.5 per cent ABV which are sold in containers of 20 litres or more and are sold to connect to a dispense system qualify for reduced duty rates. This relief provides a reduction in the duty on draught beer and cider products by 9.2 per cent, and by 23 per cent on qualifying draught wine-based, spirits-based and other fermented products.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will reduce the duty rate for draught beer and cider.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is unable to speculate on tax matters outside of fiscal events.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support pubs and small breweries.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I refer the hon member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2023 to PQ UIN 203159.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to Question 198559 on Energy: Hospitality Industry, whether she has received representations from (a) UK Hospitality, (b) the British Beer and Pub Association, or (c) hospitality businesses about energy companies refusing to supply (i) pubs, (ii) restaurants and (iii) other hospitality premises.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department regularly answers correspondence on issues related to the retail energy market, including those raised by representatives from the hospitality industry. The Department regularly meets with stakeholders from this industry. On 12th September, I met again with the UK Hospitality CEO, Kate Nicholls, where we discussed UK Hospitality’s views on the Ofgem review into the non-domestic energy market.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2023 to Question 197611 on Beer: Excise Duties, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide an exemption to paying full duty on containers for on-trade premises whose takeaway sales are ancillary to the sale for consumption on the premises.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The core objective of Draught Relief is to recognise the cultural importance of pubs and other on-trade venues as community hubs and to encourage responsible drinking in supervised settings.
Draught Relief does not prevent pubs and other on-trade venues from selling takeaway pints. Businesses have the ability to purchase full duty paid containers should they wish to decant from the container and sell beverages for their customers to consume off-site.
The Government believes it is right that beverages that are sold to be consumed off-site should pay the full rate of duty like their equivalents sold in off-trade venues. We remain open to considering any additional suggestions the industry may have which would result in the full duty being paid for beverages consumed off premises.
The Government will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes take 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.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has received representations from (a) CAMRA and (b) organisers of beer and cider festivals on the effect of the draught relief provisions in the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 on their ability to sell alcoholic drinks in sealed containers of less than 20 litres during such events.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
My officials and I have engaged extensively with members of the beer and cider industries, including CAMRA, throughout the policy development of the alcohol reforms. This includes discussions about Draught Relief.
The core objective of Draught Relief is to recognise the cultural importance of pubs and other on-trade venues as community hubs and to encourage responsible drinking in supervised settings.
The current policy does not prevent pubs and other on-trade venues from selling takeaway pints. Businesses have the ability to purchase full duty paid containers should they wish to decant from the container and sell beverages for their customers to consume off-site.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the draught beer relief to takeaway sales by licensed premises whose primary business is the sale of draught products for consumption on the premises.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
My officials and I have engaged extensively with members of the beer and cider industries, including CAMRA, throughout the policy development of the alcohol reforms. This includes discussions about Draught Relief.
The core objective of Draught Relief is to recognise the cultural importance of pubs and other on-trade venues as community hubs and to encourage responsible drinking in supervised settings.
The current policy does not prevent pubs and other on-trade venues from selling takeaway pints. Businesses have the ability to purchase full duty paid containers should they wish to decant from the container and sell beverages for their customers to consume off-site.
Asked by: Mark Pawsey (Conservative - Rugby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support (a) hospitality, (b) public house and (c) other businesses with energy prices.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to supporting the whole business sector including hospitality, public houses and other businesses. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills for 12 months from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. It also provides businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.
Wholesale gas prices have now fallen to levels before Putin’s invasion. The new EBDS therefore strikes a balance between supporting businesses for a further 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets. This provides long term certainty for businesses and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year.
The government has had to make some difficult decisions this Budget to maintain economic stability and secure the public finances. The government has provided a series of cuts and freezes on alcohol duties in the past decade. The most recent freeze from Autumn Budget 2021, including the extension to 1 August 2023, represents a total tax cut of £2.7 billion over the next 4 years. Whilst we are raising rates by RPI, we have increased the value of Draught Relief to support pubs, meaning a pint of draught beer sold in a pub will not pay more duty from August.
We have provided extensive support to the hospitality and tourism sector through an over £8 billion reduction in VAT during the pandemic, and are also increasing and extending business rates support with a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-24 for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. This will support around 230,000 businesses, including pubs, with 75 per cent relief off their business rates bill, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Pubs will also benefit from the freeze to the business rates multiplier for 2023-24, a tax cut worth £9.3 billion over the next 5 years, meaning all bills are 6% lower than without the freeze.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a Guest Beer Agreement similar to that in the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021 in the Pubs Code for England and Wales.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is currently considering publicly available evidence and the views of stakeholders to inform the second statutory review of the operation of the Pubs Code.
As required by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, a report on the conclusions to the review and whether there should be any revisions to the Code will be published by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and laid before Parliament as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she has taken to implement her hospitality strategy policies on improving the resilience of (a) pubs, (b) brewers and (c) other hospitality businesses in (i) Watford and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are working closely with the Hospitality Sector Council to deliver the 2021 Hospitality Strategy, and brought forward a Delivery Report on 1 March to show progress made. Business-led working groups are considering ways to improve business resilience, including innovation and sustainable practices, energy efficiency, jobs and skills, local partnerships, and improving access to finance.
The Government continues to support businesses with their costs, and we are legislating to increase the new Draught Relief from 5% to 9.2% for beer and cider draught products and from 20% to 23% for wine, spirits based and other fermented draught products.