Mike Wood

I draw hon. Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I have also received hospitality from CAMRA, the BBPA, UKHospitality and probably the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates. I rise to speak not only as the Member of Parliament for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, but as someone who had the honour of chairing the all-party parliamentary beer group for more than five years. During that time, I worked with colleagues across the House to ensure that our brewers, pubs and beer lovers had a Government that understood their value to communities, our economy and local culture. Under the previous Government, real progress was made on duty. We delivered reforms that simplified beer duty, recognising the unique role that pubs and small brewers play in British life. We implemented draught relief, giving pubs a competitive edge and encouraging the sale of lower-strength beer on tap. Crucially, there was a series of freezes and cuts to beer duty year after year, scrapping Gordon Brown’s damaging beer duty escalator and meaning that, by the time of the last election, the duty paid on a pint of real ale in a pub was lower than it had been 12 years earlier. We embraced the freedoms afforded to us post Brexit to create a more proportionate, strength-based alcohol duty system, designed to support responsible consumption and encourage the production of lower-strength drinks, while putting pubs and licensed premises on a fairer footing compared with supermarkets and off-licences.