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Written Question
Whisky
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the whisky industry.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

I am in regular contact with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues of importance to Scotland’s whisky industry.

Scotland’s whisky industry continues to go from strength to strength at home and abroad, and Scotch whisky is the UK’s premier food and drink export. I want Scottish producers to take full advantage of the new trade deals the UK Government is striking around the world.

In this vein, earlier this month I visited Vietnam, a key growth market for Scotch whisky, where along with representatives from the Scotch Whisky Association, I hosted a whisky reception for key business leaders in Hanoi.


Written Question
Trade Promotion: Whisky
Wednesday 20th September 2023

Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to promote Scotch whisky in international markets.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) offers a comprehensive package of support for whisky exporters, from our export academy which supports ‘new to export’ smaller businesses through to dedicated trade missions to key markets, inward buyer visits and a UK presence at major food and drink trade shows such as Prowein, Germany.

Moreover, DBT has staff in over 100 markets globally, contactable via our Export Support Service, a team of agriculture attachés in 11 markets focused on eliminating barriers for the food and drink industry and a dedicated team in Scotland focusing on support for Scottish exporters, including the Scotch whisky sector.


Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the tourism industry.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The whisky industry is the UK’s largest single food and drink sector, accounting for 25% of the UK’s food and drink exports and 75% of Scottish food and drink exports, impacting 200 markets worldwide. The whisky sector generates £3.3 billion directly to the UK economy, and totals £5.5 billion when Gross Value Added (GVA) is added to the overall to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Research by VisitScotland found that 20% of respondents stated they visited a whisky distillery on their holiday in Scotland, making it one of the top activities for overnight tourists on their trip to Scotland.

Visits to whisky distilleries in Scotland have increased by two thirds since 2010, and over 1000 people are now directly employed in tourism roles which equates to 10% of the industry’s direct employment in Scotland.


Written Question
Scotland: Whisky
Monday 5th June 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what representations her Department has made on tariffs on Scotch Whisky since 2021; on to countries.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Whisky was the UK’s largest food and drink export in 2022 valued at £6.4bn. Negotiating tariff liberalisation for UK goods with FTA partners is a priority for HMG.

By successfully concluding our accession to CPTPP, we have secured elimination over time of Malaysian tariffs of around 80% on whisky. In addition, we removed the tariff applied by Australia on UK whisky in our recent FTA, which recently came into force on 31 May 2023.

We are also currently negotiating FTAs with more markets, such as India, where we are also seeking better access for whisky.


Written Question
Tourism: Whisky
Monday 13th March 2023

Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the Scotch Whisky industry to the tourist industry in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Research by VisitBritian found that 82% of international respondents said that ‘a good variety of food and drink to try’ is a key driver when selecting a destination for an international break. This is why the UK’s unique food and drink experiences are a key pillar of their international marketing campaigns and PR activity.

The whisky industry is recognised as the UK’s largest single food and drink sector, accounting for 25% of the UK’s food and drink exports and 80% of Scottish food and drink exports, impacting 200 markets worldwide. The whisky sector generates £3.3 billion directly to the UK economy, and totals £5 billion when Gross Value Added (GVA) is added to the overall to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Research by VisitScotland found that 20% of respondents stated they visited awhisky distillery on their holiday in Scotland, making it one of the top activities for overnight tourists on their trip to Scotland.

Visits to whisky distilleries in Scotland have increased by two thirds since 2010, and over 1000 people are now directly employed in tourism roles which equates to 10% of the industry’s direct employment in Scotland.


Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Monday 13th March 2023

Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Scotch Whisky industry’s investment in the UK economy in the last five years.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is unable to speculate on the content of the Spring Budget, which takes place on 15 March. When setting alcohol duty rates through the usual Budget process, the Government aims to balance the impact on businesses with its public health objectives, and to ensure that the public finances are on a sustainable footing.

Any impacts from changes to the duty rates made at the Spring Budget 2023 will be set out in the Tax Information and Impact Notes published following the Budget.

The spirits industry, including Scotch Whisky, has benefitted from spirits duty being cut or frozen for nine out of the last ten fiscal events. Spirits duty is now at its lowest level in real terms since 1918. In addition to this, on 19 December the Government extended the current alcohol duty freeze by six months to align with the implementation of the alcohol duty reforms and reduce the impact of the duty changes on businesses.


Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Monday 13th March 2023

Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of scotch whisky distilleries on (a) the local economy and (b) communities in Scotland.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is unable to speculate on the content of the Spring Budget, which takes place on 15 March. When setting alcohol duty rates through the usual Budget process, the Government aims to balance the impact on businesses with its public health objectives, and to ensure that the public finances are on a sustainable footing.

Any impacts from changes to the duty rates made at the Spring Budget 2023 will be set out in the Tax Information and Impact Notes published following the Budget.

The spirits industry, including Scotch Whisky, has benefitted from spirits duty being cut or frozen for nine out of the last ten fiscal events. Spirits duty is now at its lowest level in real terms since 1918. In addition to this, on 19 December the Government extended the current alcohol duty freeze by six months to align with the implementation of the alcohol duty reforms and reduce the impact of the duty changes on businesses.


Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Wednesday 28th September 2022

Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)

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 with Cabinet colleagues of the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the UK tourism sector and hospitality sector.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Whilst no specific assessment has been made by the UK Government, according to the Scotch Whisky Association, the Scotch Whisky industry continues to provide a significant contribution to the Scottish economy with sustained export values of around £4.5 billion and £5.5 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy.

The 140 Scotch Whisky distilleries which operate across Scotland attracted around 2.2 million visitors in 2019, making this industry the third most popular tourist attraction. These figures demonstrate the employment opportunities that this industry provides for the UK tourist and hospitality sector.


Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Wednesday 28th September 2022

Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)

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 impact of the scotch whisky industry on levels of employment in Scotland.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Whilst no specific assessment has been made by the UK Government, according to the Scotch Whisky Association more than 11,000 people are directly employed in the Scotch Whisky industry in Scotland, and over 42,000 jobs across the UK are supported by the Scotch Whisky industry.

7,000 of these jobs are in rural areas of Scotland providing vital employment and investment opportunities to communities across the Highlands and Islands.

The Scotch Whisky industry continues to provide a significant contribution to the Scottish economy, with sustained export values of around £4.5 billion, and £5.5 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy, according to industry analysis. The 140 Scotch Whisky distilleries which operate across Scotland attracted around 2.2 million visitors in 2019 making this industry the third most popular tourist attraction.

In addition, 57% of distillers reported an increase in their number of staff in the past twelve months, with all respondents expecting to need to add to their workforces in the coming year. These figures outlined by the Scotch Whisky Association demonstrate the wide range of employment opportunities this industry provides to those in Scotland.


Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Wednesday 28th September 2022

Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)

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 with Cabinet colleagues of the contribution of the Scotch Whisky industry to trends in the level of UK employment.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Whilst no specific assessment has been made by the UK Government, according to the Scotch Whisky Association more than 11,000 people are directly employed in the Scotch Whisky industry in Scotland, and over 42,000 jobs across the UK are supported by the Scotch Whisky industry.

7,000 of these jobs are in rural areas of Scotland providing vital employment and investment opportunities to communities across the Highlands and Islands.

The Scotch Whisky industry continues to provide a significant contribution to the Scottish economy, with sustained export values of around £4.5 billion, and £5.5 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy, according to industry analysis. The 140 Scotch Whisky distilleries which operate across Scotland attracted around 2.2 million visitors in 2019 making this industry the third most popular tourist attraction.

In addition, 57% of distillers reported an increase in their number of staff in the past twelve months, with all respondents expecting to need to add to their workforces in the coming year. These figures outlined by the Scotch Whisky Association demonstrate the wide range of employment opportunities this industry provides to those in Scotland.