Scotch Whisky Industry

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Roger Mullin

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Westminster Hall

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O’Hara) on securing the debate and providing us with an opportunity to discuss the significant contribution that the whisky industry makes to the national economy. I am well aware of the contribution that the industry makes to his constituency of Argyll and Bute, an area that I regularly visit for family trips, and my office manager, an Ileach, speaks often about the importance of the distilleries to the Islay economy. With eight distilleries on an island of 3,000 people, and another two being planned, soon there will be one distillery for every 300 residents. My office manager tells me that, from hazy memory, the Islay festival of malt and music is a very good time to be on the island.

Like Argyll and Bute, my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire North benefits greatly from having an active and successful whisky sector in the area. We have heard much, rightly, about areas of production, but there are equally important parts of the industry. Indeed, I recently visited the Chivas Regal bottling plant in my constituency and spoke with staff about the work that they do. The facility employs more than 500 staff, and it is where the company bottles most of its whisky portfolio, including brands such as Chivas Regal, the Glenlivet and Aberlour and the super-premium products such as Royal Salute. Chivas Regal is famous the world over—

[Roger Mullin]

Does my hon. Friend agree that in the aspect that he has mentioned—bottling—the whisky industry has led fantastic growth in productivity and innovation? The growth has been such that in Fife, the bottling plant in Leven now bottles not only malt whisky, but most of the company’s London gin.

[Gavin Newlands]

Indeed. I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. The productivity leads to further investment, which I will come on to later.

The staff at the Paisley site are proud to distribute whisky to all corners of the world, including China, India and the United States. During my visit, I was grateful to be shown around the new north bottling hall, which was opened last year as part of a wider £40 million investment by Chivas Brothers and helps to highlight the positive future that the whisky industry has in Renfrewshire and across the UK.

However, it is not only Chivas that operates in my constituency. Diageo is also well represented, with facilities near Braehead and at Blythswood. Both are long-standing providers of many jobs in the constituency, and I look forward to visiting them in the near future—that was a plug. Chivas and Diageo are extremely important to the Renfrewshire economy and help to support more than 1,000 local jobs. The Scotch Whisky Association estimates that the Scotch whisky sector directly employs 10,800 people. I am very proud to say that about 10% of those jobs are based in my constituency. Back home in Renfrewshire, we probably do not realise or appreciate how important our constituency is to the wider success of whisky. The three plants based in my constituency are extremely important, both locally and nationally, and I would like to record my thanks to all those workers who contribute to the success of the “water of life”.

We cannot stress enough the importance of the whisky industry to Scotland. It is part of our DNA, and we are famous all over the world for being the home of whisky. According to the SWA, the whisky industry’s contribution to the UK’s GDP amounts to £5 billion and it helps to support 43,000 jobs across the UK. In 2013, more than 1.1 million visits were made to whisky distilleries, with many of the visitors coming from all over the world to sample some Scotch whisky and see how it is distilled. Scotch whisky can be and has been described as the star performer of the UK economy. When we look at the activity of the industry in overseas markets, it becomes clear why it is so important to our national economy. Last year, Scotland exported 99 million barrels of whisky, which, according to the Library, were worth almost £4 billion, with imports amounting to £200 million. Without the success of whisky, the UK’s trade deficit would be 11% higher than it is today.

Given the success and significance of whisky in the national economy, our call for a further reduction in spirit duty by 2%, which is supported by the SWA, is entirely legitimate. A 76% tax burden is entirely excessive and ultimately unsustainable. What is more, with less than 9% of the EU population, UK consumers pay 25% of all EU spirit duties. Indeed, revenue raised by spirit duty has gone up by more than £100 million in the last year, following the Chancellor’s 2% cut in last year’s Budget, so he does not have to look too far for the evidence.

The future is bright for the Scotch whisky sector. I see that at first hand in my own constituency with the investment that has been made in the plants in Renfrewshire. We should be proud that our whisky is famous the world over and attracts tourists all year round. Scottish whisky is one of the star performers of our national economy. It is vital to our local communities and vital to supporting local jobs, and we should do as much as we can to encourage its growth in any way we can. Slàinte!