Ian Roome
Main Page: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)Department Debates - View all Ian Roome's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(2 days ago)
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Mr Forster
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. We were in this Chamber talking about EPR several months back; she is a fine advocate for her whole constituency, and particularly the Somerset cider industry.
I talked about our need to reduce beer duty. The Chancellor announced a 1.7% reduction in alcohol duty on draught beer and cider in the previous Budget—I will give the Government that. However, the standard rate of duty on non-draught products is set to rise by 3.6%. When combined with the cost of EPR, that will seriously threaten the brewing and bottle industry in terms of growth and investment.
The Government are finding catchy headlines to say at the Dispatch Box, but the economic picture painted is this: the Labour Government are giving with one hand and taking with the other. This debate, at its heart, is a political response to that bad economics. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs seems determined to push ahead with EPR, despite legitimate concerns raised in the Department. Meanwhile, the campaign to reduce beer duty, which has long been led by the Campaign for Real Ale and others, enjoys wide support across the industry.
Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)
Does my hon. Friend agree that a reduction in beer duty would help hard-working publicans like Simon and Alison from a micropub in Barnstaple called Beer Matters, who have just won the CAMRA award for North Devon, to continue in business? Not only is it a fantastic micropub, but it serves as a good social hub in the community.
Mr Forster
My hon. Friend is right to promote his amazing community hub and pub in Barnstaple. I pass on my best wishes to Beer Matters for its award.
A lot of us have concerns about the EPR rules. Under the current EPR rules, glass packaging used in pubs is wrongly classified as household waste, even though it is collected and recycled via private commercial contractors. EPR is meant to fund the cost of removing packaging from household waste streams—not from businesses that already pay for their recycling. This means that brewers and pubs face duplicate charges for the same glass, despite it never entering the household.
DEFRA has acknowledged that the policy is wrong and that it was never intended to be implemented in this way. It has committed to the industry to find a solution, but no fix has yet been delivered, and it has pressed on with the scheme regardless. Reducing beer duty would mean less tax per pint in principle, but, in practice, it would bring a great benefit.