Jesse Norman
Main Page: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)Department Debates - View all Jesse Norman's debates with the HM Treasury
(11 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Andrew Griffiths
If I could finish my point, I will then give way. The reality is that since the introduction of the beer duty escalator in 2008, beer duty has increased by a crippling 42%.
Jesse Norman (Hereford and South Herefordshire) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Herefordshire has wonderful pubs, which are hard-pressed, breweries and some of the finest hops in the country. Does my hon. Friend agree that part of the review’s solution must be to include a rebalancing of duty away from pubs and towards retailers?
Andrew Griffiths
My hon. Friend makes an important point. The gap between prices charged at the pub and those charged at the supermarkets has widened. The supermarkets have driven the price down, as they did with milk, which affected our dairy farmers, and every time there is a duty increase it is the brewers who are forced to stand it.