Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to beer duty on the financial sustainability of (a) small and (b) independent breweries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A new duty structure for alcoholic products was introduced in August 2023. This included a new Small Producer Relief (SPR) which replaced and extended the previous Small Brewers Relief. SPR provides vital support to smaller producers making 4500 hectolitres or less of alcohol per year by providing reduced rates of duty on all alcoholic products below 8.5 per cent ABV.
HMRC plans to evaluate the impact of the new alcohol duty rates and structures, including SPR, three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. Three years allows time for HMRC to gather a broad range of data to properly evaluate the impacts. The Government welcomes evidence from industry on the impact of the changes so far.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of beer duty reforms on the growth of (a) microbreweries and (b) regional brewing clusters.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A new duty structure for alcoholic products was introduced in August 2023. This included a new Small Producer Relief (SPR) which replaced and extended the previous Small Brewers Relief. SPR provides vital support to smaller producers making 4500 hectolitres or less of alcohol per year by providing reduced rates of duty on all alcoholic products below 8.5 per cent ABV.
HMRC plans to evaluate the impact of the new alcohol duty rates and structures, including SPR, three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. Three years allows time for HMRC to gather a broad range of data to properly evaluate the impacts. The Government welcomes evidence from industry on the impact of the changes so far.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to monitor whether reductions in beer duty are being passed on to (a) consumers and (b) publicans.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A new duty structure for alcoholic products was introduced in August 2023. This included a new Draught Relief which is a reduced rate of Alcohol Duty applied to qualifying alcoholic products sold in the on-trade (e.g. pubs, bars) under 8.5% ABV.
The government estimated the cost of Draught Relief as £145m for 24-25 and published it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor also announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This is the equivalent to a 1p reduction on a typical pint, and means draught beer now pays 13.9% less in duty than its packaged equivalents.
HMRC plans to evaluate the impact of the new alcohol duty rates and structures, including Draught Relief, three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. Three years allows time for HMRC to gather a broad range of data to properly evaluate the impacts. The Government welcomes evidence from industry on the impact of the changes so far.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of reforms to beer duty on (a) consumer prices and (b) inflation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A new duty structure for alcoholic products was introduced in August 2023. This included a new Draught Relief which is a reduced rate of Alcohol Duty applied to qualifying alcoholic products sold in the on-trade (e.g. pubs, bars) under 8.5% ABV.
The government estimated the cost of Draught Relief as £145m for 24-25 and published it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor also announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This is the equivalent to a 1p reduction on a typical pint, and means draught beer now pays 13.9% less in duty than its packaged equivalents.
HMRC plans to evaluate the impact of the new alcohol duty rates and structures, including Draught Relief, three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. Three years allows time for HMRC to gather a broad range of data to properly evaluate the impacts. The Government welcomes evidence from industry on the impact of the changes so far.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential fiscal impact of draught beer relief since its introduction.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A new duty structure for alcoholic products was introduced in August 2023. This included a new Draught Relief which is a reduced rate of Alcohol Duty applied to qualifying alcoholic products sold in the on-trade (e.g. pubs, bars) under 8.5% ABV.
The government estimated the cost of Draught Relief as £145m for 24-25 and published it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor also announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This is the equivalent to a 1p reduction on a typical pint, and means draught beer now pays 13.9% less in duty than its packaged equivalents.
HMRC plans to evaluate the impact of the new alcohol duty rates and structures, including Draught Relief, three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. Three years allows time for HMRC to gather a broad range of data to properly evaluate the impacts. The Government welcomes evidence from industry on the impact of the changes so far.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to support hospitality businesses with energy costs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
By building a diverse low carbon energy system, the government is taking the long term decisions that will make the most of our abundant natural resources to protect businesses from future price shocks. To support businesses now, the government is offering free carbon foot printing and energy-saving support to 615 small and medium-sized hospitality businesses as part of a 12-month trial.
More broadly, we are determined to support retail businesses to succeed against a difficult economic backdrop. We will introduce a permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of this being introduced, we extended the RHL relief for 2025-26 at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and froze the small business multiplier.
In addition, we:
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of corporation tax rises on small and medium-sized hospitality businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Businesses in our retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are foundational to our economy and our high streets, and we are supporting them to succeed.
The Government published its Corporate Tax Roadmap at Autumn Budget 2024, which commits to maintaining a competitive and sustainable main rate by capping corporation tax at 25 per cent for the duration of this Parliament. The Roadmap also confirms that the small profits rate will be maintained, so companies with profits of £50,000 or less will continue to pay 19 per cent.
The marginal relief for companies with profits of between £50,000 and £250,000 means only around 6 per cent of actively trading companies pay the full main rate. This structure means that most small and medium-sized businesses, including those in the hospitality sector, do not pay the full rate.
In addition, the Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with ratable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Ahead of these new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. We have also frozen the small business multiplier.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of small business rate relief on the viability of small hospitality businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27.
Over a third of properties (more than 700,000) already pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), with an additional c.60,000 benefiting from reduced bills as this relief tapers.
The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report, published on 11 September, brings together extensive feedback from a broad range of stakeholders and outlines the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system, that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century. This includes exploring a number of reforms to incentivise investment and improve the operation of the business rates system, including how SBRR could be enhanced to more effectively support investment and expansion among small businesses.
The Government will provide a further update at the Budget. Transforming the business rates system is a multi-year process. The Government will consider reforms beyond Budget 2025, and any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with industry representatives on ensuring fair access to finance for hospitality businesses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector and officials in the Treasury and the Department of Business and Trade engage regularly with stakeholders in the sector to understand their views. We are dedicated to ensuring that businesses across the UK, including those in the hospitality sector, can access the capital they need to grow.
While the provision of financial services to companies is largely a commercial matter, the Government believes all customers should be treated fairly. The UK has a diverse and competitive financial services sector and businesses should consider a range of providers for their finance needs, as this encourages competition, improves choice, and helps keep prices competitive.
Working with the British Business Bank (BBB), we are delivering a range of targeted interventions for businesses, including those in the hospitality sector, such as loan guarantee programmes and equity investments, designed to address regional funding gaps and unlock investment opportunities.
The recent Spending Review settlement has increased the BBB’s total financial capacity to £25.6 billion, a two-thirds uplift compared to previous years, enabling the Bank to back tens of billions of pounds’ worth of additional lending and investment to SMEs and scale-ups.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential long-term fiscal impact of closures in the hospitality sector on local economies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government values the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
The Government closely monitors the health of different sectors across the UK economy and regularly engages with the hospitality sector. The recent Spending Review set out our new long-term local growth programmes to invest in communities across the UK, including to support local high streets and their hospitality businesses.
The hospitality sector makes significant contribution the exchequer, the UK economy, and society. We are determined to support hospitality businesses to succeed. We will introduce a permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, we extended the RHL relief for 2025-26 at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.
In addition, we:
We will continue to work with the hospitality sector to help drive economic growth, regenerate our high streets, and support vibrant and healthy communities across the UK.