Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the contribution the Scotch whisky sector can make in supporting the UK’s hospitability sector to recover from the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the important contribution the Scotch whisky sector makes to the hospitality sector and the wider economy.

For this reason, and as announced at the Budget, the duty rates on spirits will be frozen for another year. This will save consumers 52p on a 70cl bottle of Scotch, and £845 million over the coming years. Cuts and freezes at eight of the last nine budgets means a bottle of Scotch is £2.72 cheaper than it would have been had prices risen with inflation. Due to the continued freeze on alcohol duty, Scotch whisky is also facing the lowest real-terms tax rate since 1918.