Mike Wood

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that 10 pubs a week were closing; a number of those, I think, had been artificially sustained through covid by support, but there has been a long-term trend, going back to the turn of the century, of far too many pubs closing. The difference was that the last Government were taking action to try to address that trend. We are waiting to see whether this Government will match that action. British beer is not just an industry but a cultural institution. The evidence of a link between price and alcohol consumption is tenuous at best, but we do know that as prices rise, habits change. When they rise sharply, consumers switch how and what they drink: they go from drinking low-strength beers and ciders to higher-strength wines and spirits. They go from drinking in well-regulated pubs and bars to drinking more at home, without that monitoring and oversight. Publicans tell us that the support that they once felt is now gone. Brewers, especially in rural and coastal areas, are seeing margins tighten and options shrink, and it is drinkers who are paying more for less. We are looking to the Government to reverse the automatic RPI uprating and freeze duty for the remainder of this Parliament; to expand draught relief, to ensure that packaged beer sold in pubs pays a significantly lower duty rate than that sold mainly in supermarkets; to raise the small producer threshold, allowing businesses, including family brewers, to grow without fear of penalty; and to commit to a long-term transparent policy that supports investment and sustainability in the brewing industry. Neither our brewers nor our community pubs can afford to take the hit now by being seen as cash cows for the Chancellor’s need to raise revenue. Real ale deserves real support. Labour’s national insurance rises and slashing of business rate relief has hammered pubs, while its cap on business property relief is a real threat to family brewers. The least that the Government can do is offer some comfort by reducing the pressures caused by high beer duty rates. Consumers, publicans and brewers alike will be watching carefully to see whether the Minister is truly on their side.