Thank you for contacting me about pubs and beer.
I believe that pubs make an important contribution to our culture – fostering a sense of place and community – and the UK economy. The Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee’ confirms the alcohol duty you pay for a drink on tap at your local pub will be up to 11p less per pint than what you will pay in a supermarket. Moreover, the new alcohol duty system implemented in August included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade.
Pubs will also benefit from business rates support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including a more generous Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme that has increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent in 2023-24.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme provided £7.4 billion of energy bill support to businesses including pubs. Eligible businesses will continue to get a baseline discount on energy bills under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024.
Moreover, to continue to support the hospitality sector, the Government recently announced the extension of the temporary off-sales regulatory easement – set out in the Business and Planning Act 2020 – until 31 March 2025. This extension enables holders of licences that only cover ‘on sales’ to continue to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, including ‘takeaway pints’, for a further 18 months.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Kind regards,
Graham