Cask Ale: Intangible Cultural Heritage

Gavin Williamson Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)]

I remember the first day I tasted a true cask ale—I think it was my 18th birthday, when I first supped a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. It is a truly beautiful pint and something that I hope many 18-year-olds and people of advancing years continue to enjoy, but it is under threat. I congratulate the hon. Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) on securing the debate because it is important. In the historical boundaries of Staffordshire, we have been under assault, with the shutting of some of our greatest, best and longest-standing breweries. First, Carlsberg decided to close the Park brewery in Wolverhampton and then the Marston’s brewery. Frankly, a company that thinks Special Brew is a good alcoholic beverage does not have much care or consideration for true, quality cask ales.

We see a real challenge in our brewing industry. The Swan in Brewood has a bar serving some of the finest cask ales from across the country, with 12 always on tap. That was once seen regularly across the country, but it is increasingly rare today. Although the number of small brewers has grown over the last 30 years, with some 1,500 breweries across the country, some major breweries—as we have seen with Carlsberg—have been pulling out of cask ale. The point has already been raised that major breweries are misleading customers by making them think that they are getting a true cask ale, because it is served from a traditional handpump, when in reality these are not cask ales. As companies such as Carlsberg shut historic brewery sites such as the Park brewery in Wolverhampton and Marston’s in Burton, skills and traditions are being lost.

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood), I note that the Chancellor is not a passive observer. Tomorrow, he can do something important for the brewing industry and all our communities by making changes to the duty relief for cask ale. He can also support our pubs, because if we do not have vibrant pubs in our communities, we do not have a cask ale industry. If the breweries do not have anyone to sell to, they will simply wither and die.

Yes, it is about duties, but it is also about rates. So many pubs across my constituency still feel the squeeze from a double impact imposed by this Government not just on rates but on the cost of employing young people. There is an opportunity for the Chancellor to stand up, with a traditional alcoholic beverage by his side—I would suggest a nice pint from the Lymestone brewery in Stone—to celebrate and toast our brewers by not only helping them with the duties charged on cask ale but by helping out every single pub in our constituencies by getting rid of the national insurance increases imposed by the previous Chancellor.

I very much support the arguments advanced for special heritage status for our cask ale industry. Everything that we can do to promote the industry, and to make sure that people understand how special it is and how much work goes into every single cask, is for the best. I would also be interested to hear from the Minister about whether the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has dragged the chief executive of Carlsberg into the Department to demand to know why he is wrecking and doing so much damage to our brewing industry. She should demand answers and a commitment to investment in these incredibly important historic breweries, which are at the heart of so many of our communities.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) on securing this debate. He is a strong champion for his constituents, local employers and our brewing traditions. For decades, our heritage policies have focused on physical buildings and monuments, and we are expanding that by recognising living heritage: the crafts, skills and community traditions passed down through generations. This debate is a brilliant way to illustrate that. My hon. Friend made a strong case for the heritage, and explained the traditions associated with cask ale brewing with colour and detail. The support for this debate is reflected by the attendance and contributions from hon. and right hon. Members from across the House today. I recognise that my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) originally applied for and championed this debate.

Following the ratification of the 2003 UNESCO convention, we launched the nationwide search to document our living history, and the upcoming launch of the domestic inventories will be an important milestone. We have heard a strong argument for the inclusion of cask ale, led by the Campaign For Real Ale, the Craft Beer Channel and grassroots supporters and amplified today by my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter and by hon. and right hon. Members from across the House. Cask Ale Culture has been formally submitted and is currently being assessed by an independent panel.

Alongside living traditions, DCMS continues to protect physical pub heritage. More than 12,000 listed buildings in England are current or former pubs. Through our arts everywhere fund and our £200 million investment in heritage to 2030, we are helping communities to restore and safeguard historical venues. We have heard from right hon. and hon. Members—I will not attempt to list them all—speaking about their local brewers, including Allanwater Brewhouse in Stirling and the Dancing Duck in Derby, and the sheer number of pubs—I believe it was 132—that my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby) quoted.

To answer one of the questions from my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter, next year, DCMS will launch a public consultation on safeguarding living heritage to identify the practical steps needed to keep these traditions alive. I encourage the brewing industry and the pub sector to take part. Cask ale protects skilled jobs, strengthens communities and preserves practical crafts. It is a vital living tradition.

My hon. Friend rightly mentioned the proposed closure of Marston’s brewery in Burton upon Trent, which I know he raised directly with the Prime Minister during Prime Minister’s questions. Carlsberg Britvic’s proposal is a blow to the workforce, the local community and the identity of Burton upon Trent and the surrounding area. Brewing is part of the fabric the area, and with more than 300 potential job losses and workers facing uncertainty, the Government stand ready to support them through Jobcentre Plus and the rapid response service. We will ensure that tailored support is available to help people to find new opportunities and to protect their livelihoods. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will remain in close contact with Carlsberg Britvic throughout the consultation process.

[Sir Gavin Williamson]

I welcome the work that the Government are doing, but has the Secretary of State dragged in the chief executive of Carlsberg? This seems to be a pattern of behaviour, happening not just in Burton, but in Wolverhampton as well. It seems intent on closing down all its cask ale breweries.

[Stephanie Peacock]

I was about to answer the right hon. Member’s question. Of course, that would be for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and I will speak to Ministers directly following this debate. While this debate is not on that particular issue, I absolutely recognise that it is integral to the right hon. Member’s area and the surrounding area. I will speak to DEFRA Ministers directly.

The right hon. Member and my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) rightly highlighted the closure of Banks’s brewery. Of course, that announcement comes alongside Molson Coors proposing the closure of Sharp’s brewery in Rock. Both companies have pointed to the decline in cask ale demand. I totally hear the points that the right hon. Member made. UK cask ale volumes have halved in less than 10 years. I think we heard a statistic from my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter about cask ale sales accounting for 5% of the market today compared with 50% in the 1990s. We are seeing a decline, but there are some positive signs. Industry data reveals a 50% increase in young adults aged 18 to 25 regularly drinking cask ales in pubs. We want that renewed interest to grow, and we heard a number of examples of how we might do that, including the Hemel Old Town Beer festival mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor), or the local festival that the shadow Minister mentioned—I wish him luck in judging the competition.

Pubs and hospitality venues are essential social infrastructure. They combat loneliness, bring generations together and provide places to bring people together in our communities.