Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of UK spirits duty rates for the on-trade compared to equivalent rates in (a) Ireland, (b) France, (c) Germany, and (d) other EU member states.

The UK’s alcohol duty system balances protecting the public finances and promoting health.

There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here.