Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to ensure that the Alcohol Duty Review supports the Scotch whisky sector.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As announced at the Budget, the duty rates on spirits will be frozen for another year. This will save consumers 52p on a 70cl bottle of Scotch, and £845 million over the coming years. Cuts and freezes at eight of the last nine budgets means a bottle of Scotch is £2.72 cheaper than it would have been had prices risen with inflation, and means that spirits duty is at its lowest rate in real terms since 1918.
As part of our alcohol duty review, we have announced further reforms which aim to support the Scotch whisky sector. To achieve a more level playing field, the Government intends to move to tax all alcoholic products in reference to the litres of pure alcohol they contain, as currently happens for spirits, and to reduce the duty differential between wines and spirits. This will provide a more consistent treatment between spirits, wines and stronger beers.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the contribution the Scotch whisky sector can make in supporting the UK’s hospitability sector to recover from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important contribution the Scotch whisky sector makes to the hospitality sector and the wider economy.
For this reason, and as announced at the Budget, the duty rates on spirits will be frozen for another year. This will save consumers 52p on a 70cl bottle of Scotch, and £845 million over the coming years. Cuts and freezes at eight of the last nine budgets means a bottle of Scotch is £2.72 cheaper than it would have been had prices risen with inflation. Due to the continued freeze on alcohol duty, Scotch whisky is also facing the lowest real-terms tax rate since 1918.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with (a) US trade representatives and (b) industry bodies on efforts to (i) reach a resolution to the Section 232 dispute with the US and (ii) the removal of the 25 per cent tariff on imported US whiskey.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has engaged with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, most recently on 12 November, to press for a resolution to the Section 232 tariffs. We have also been engaging with industry bodies, including The Scotch Whisky Association. UK importers are aware that our preference is the full removal of 232 tariffs, in which case the UK’s 25 percent tariff on imported US whiskey will not be required.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to freeze or lower excise duties on whisky.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As announced at Autumn Budget 2021, the duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits will be frozen for another year, saving consumers £3 billion over the next five years and supporting the hospitality industry and its suppliers as they recover from the pandemic. Due to the continued freeze on alcohol duty, Scotch whisky is also facing the lowest real-terms tax rate since 1918.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and North Perthshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to review the application of duty stamps on Scotch whisky and spirits.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Duty stamps do not raise revenue, they are an anti-fraud measure that have helped secure the alcohol supply chain, making it more difficult for illicit products to infiltrate the market. HMRC’s tax gap estimate indicates that such measures are successfully keeping spirit’s fraud at historically low levels.
The Government is keen to support innovation in the alcohol sector. That is why, at Budget 2020, we announced plans to review alcohol duty with the aim of improving the current system to make it simpler, more economically rational and less administratively burdensome.
Following a Call for Evidence launched in October 2020, the Government is currently considering the responses. While scope of this review does not include duty stamps, HM Revenue and Customs will review the duty stamps policy when any changes to the alcohol regime have been developed.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the contribution of Scotch Whisky distilleries as job creators in rural Scottish communities in each of the last three years.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important contribution the spirits sector makes to the economy. This is why we announced a freeze on spirit duties at March Budget 2021, making the price of a typical bottle of Scotch whisky 30p lower than it would have been had prices risen with inflation. When added to the cuts and freezes made in the last five years, this means that the price of a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky in 2021 will be £2.15 lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the spirits escalator in 2014.
To further support Scotch, the Chancellor has announced £1 million of additional funding for the promotion of Scottish food and drink products overseas, and £10 million of research and development funding to help the distilling sector transition to net zero emissions.
More broadly, the Government keeps all taxes under review. We are continuing to monitor emerging public health data and will provide further updates on our alcohol duty review in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on the purchasing of alcohol through consumers being charged different amounts of tax per unit of alcohol consumed in line with the Chief Medical Office's guidelines; and what assessment his Department has made of that policy on sales of spirits as the highest taxed category of alcohol.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important contribution the spirits sector makes to the economy. This is why we announced a freeze on spirit duties at March Budget 2021, making the price of a typical bottle of Scotch whisky 30p lower than it would have been had prices risen with inflation. When added to the cuts and freezes made in the last five years, this means that the price of a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky in 2021 will be £2.15 lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the spirits escalator in 2014.
To further support Scotch, the Chancellor has announced £1 million of additional funding for the promotion of Scottish food and drink products overseas, and £10 million of research and development funding to help the distilling sector transition to net zero emissions.
More broadly, the Government keeps all taxes under review. We are continuing to monitor emerging public health data and will provide further updates on our alcohol duty review in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the contribution of the Scotch Whisky industry to (a) the Scottish and (b) UK economies in the last three years.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important contribution the spirits sector makes to the economy. This is why we announced a freeze on spirit duties at March Budget 2021, making the price of a typical bottle of Scotch whisky 30p lower than it would have been had prices risen with inflation. When added to the cuts and freezes made in the last five years, this means that the price of a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky in 2021 will be £2.15 lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the spirits escalator in 2014.
To further support Scotch, the Chancellor has announced £1 million of additional funding for the promotion of Scottish food and drink products overseas, and £10 million of research and development funding to help the distilling sector transition to net zero emissions.
More broadly, the Government keeps all taxes under review. We are continuing to monitor emerging public health data and will provide further updates on our alcohol duty review in due course.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which UK meat products are currently (a) designated as having full geographical indication status in Japan, or (b) awaiting the completion of domestic procedures in Japan prior to the designation of protected geographical indication status, in accordance with Chapter 14, Section B, Sub-Section 3 and Footnote 2 of Annex 14-B of the UK-Japan CEPA.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) currently secures the protection of the following UK Geographical Indications (GIs) in Japan: Stilton White Cheese, Stilton Blue Cheese, West Country Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese, Scottish Farmed Salmon, Irish Whiskey/Whisky, Irish Cream, Scotch Whisky.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which UK fish and shellfish products are currently (a) designated as having full geographical indication status in Japan, or (b) awaiting the completion of domestic procedures in Japan prior to the designation of protected geographical indication status, in accordance with Chapter 14, Section B, Sub-Section 3 and Footnote 2 of Annex 14-B of the UK-Japan CEPA.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) currently secures the protection of the following UK Geographical Indications (GIs) in Japan: Stilton White Cheese, Stilton Blue Cheese, West Country Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese, Scottish Farmed Salmon, Irish Whiskey/Whisky, Irish Cream, Scotch Whisky.