"9. What assessment has he made of the effect on the brewing industry of the reduction in beer duty announced in the 2013 Budget...." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"On Friday I will open a new bottling plant at Marston’s brewery in my constituency—a £7 million investment made possible because of the Chancellor’s decision to cut beer duty. In the past six months, beer sales have gone up for the first time in 10 years, and 120 million extra …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"I thank my right hon. Friend for the measured way in which he is considering all the responses to the consultation. Does he understand the concerns raised by the Office of Fair Trading about the free-of-tie proposal as outlined in the consultation? It claims that it will increase rents and …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s desire for movement and to see some improvement in this matter, but does he not accept that in 13 years of his Government, despite 6,000 pubs closing in the last three years alone, they did nothing at all, apart from a few weeks before …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"I completely concur with my hon. Friend’s point. He mentions the history of this. Would he be surprised to learn that the number of pubs owned by pubcos doubled under the last Government?..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"The hon. Lady says that the tie is distorting. I point her to the Office of Fair Trading investigation, which clearly said that the tie does not distort and that it is not anti-competitive in any way...." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to take part in this important debate. I have been struggling to juggle the task of opening a new business in my constituency with my membership of the Care Bill Committee, so I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"As a young boy, I was more or less brought up in a working men’s club. I went to it every weekend. I recognise the importance of our working men’s clubs, and I know that a situation arose whereby clubs were in hock to the brewers. What we must bear …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"I am certainly open to the idea of an adjudicator. My question is, who pays? It is estimated that the administration of an adjudicator could cost £1 million, which is a huge amount of money to take out of the beer and pub economy. Who is going to pay for …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech
"I think that you would become apoplectic, Madam Deputy Speaker, if I were to wax lyrical on why pubs are closing. We all know that it is due to changing social demographics, to the fact that people are spending more time at home, to the drink-driving laws and to the …..." Andrew Griffiths - View Speech