Baggy Shanker

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) for stepping up and leading this debate. Derby knows a thing or two about a proper pint. In fact, we have been described as the best place in the world to drink real ale, and I am sure that everyone in this room agrees with me. [Interruption.] Maybe not. Visiting our heritage beer festival, brilliantly organised by Derby CAMRA and festival chair Russ Gilbert earlier this month, it is not hard to see why. Hot off the press after winning pub of the year, I am chuffed to welcome Alan from The Brunswick to Parliament today. We have so many other publicans to be proud of, whether it is Jim and Steph at the Falstaff in Normanton, Mel and Sue at The Needles in Alvaston, freedom of the city recipient Steve at The Neptune or the fantastic team behind Ay Up at Dancing Duck brewery. Our city’s reputation is built on our brilliant pubs, publicans and breweries, and of course our amazing punters. In Derby, we know that a pub is far more than just a place to enjoy a pint. Kat Higgins, our local CAMRA pubs officer, who could not join us today, knows that better than most. What is more, we know that a pint of cask ale is about more than just what is in the glass: it is about the brewer who understands the craft and the publican who takes pride in serving it properly, completing the brewing process at the pub. That is proper living heritage. These traditions do not survive by accident; they depend on the people who keep them going and the pubs that give them a home. But the threats to cask ale are alive and well. In 1995, cask ale represented 50% of beer sales; today, it is less than 8%. We are seeing practices creep in where fresh ales are masquerading as cask ales, misleading punters while companies close breweries and reduce their cask lines, and we have heard examples of that this morning. CAMRA has been leading the charge to tackle this with its “Handpump Hijack” campaign, and I thank it for its work. Recognising cask ale as intangible cultural heritage really matters. It will not solve every problem that the sector faces, but it will help to recognise the people, the skills and the communities behind this great British tradition. Let us protect the best of British brewing and make sure that there is a great pint waiting for generations to come by giving cask ale the recognition it deserves.