Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 28 July 2025, to Question 66478, on Innovation: Beer and Public Houses, whether the Government intends to involve amend the Licensing Act 2003 to prohibit the sale of alcohol-free drinks to under 18s in pubs.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A non-alcoholic product differs from a soft drink as it is a beverage intentionally crafted to mimic traditional alcoholic drinks like beer, wine, or spirits. This is a newly emerging area, but there is some evidence to suggest that exposure to alcohol like products, even if low or zero alcohol, can normalize drinking, and become a gateway to alcohol consumption. Earlier alcohol use initiation is linked to a higher risk of harmful drinking patterns later in life.
The Department continues to monitor the emerging evidence on the impact of no and low alcohol (NoLo) products on children and young people. A large multi-year National Institute for Health and Care Research study is underway to examine the public health impacts of NoLo products, and we look forward to the findings of that being available in the coming year.
The Government is still considering options to restrict access to NoLo products, including banning sales to under 18 year-olds. as committed to in the In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England. We will share an update with stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 28 July 2025, to Question 66478, on Innovation: Beer and Public Houses, on what evidential basis no- and low-alcohol drinks can cause harm to 16 and 17 year olds.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A non-alcoholic product differs from a soft drink as it is a beverage intentionally crafted to mimic traditional alcoholic drinks like beer, wine, or spirits. This is a newly emerging area, but there is some evidence to suggest that exposure to alcohol like products, even if low or zero alcohol, can normalize drinking, and become a gateway to alcohol consumption. Earlier alcohol use initiation is linked to a higher risk of harmful drinking patterns later in life.
The Department continues to monitor the emerging evidence on the impact of no and low alcohol (NoLo) products on children and young people. A large multi-year National Institute for Health and Care Research study is underway to examine the public health impacts of NoLo products, and we look forward to the findings of that being available in the coming year.
The Government is still considering options to restrict access to NoLo products, including banning sales to under 18 year-olds. as committed to in the In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England. We will share an update with stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review excise duty rates on (a) spirits, (b) wine and (c) beer.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The baseline assumption, shared by the Government and the Office for Budget Responsibility, is that alcohol duty will be increased annually in line with the Retail Price Index, so that it does not fall in real terms.
As with all taxes, the Government welcomes representations from stakeholders to inform policy development.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and her fiscal rules require day-to-day spending to be fully paid for through tax receipts.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2025 to Question 66478 Innovation: Beer and Public Houses, for what reason it is his policy to prohibit sales of non-alcoholic products to people under the age of 18; and how non-alcoholic drinks would be differentiated from soft drinks.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting further growth of the no- and low-alcohol market, which has grown significantly over the past 10 years.
A non-alcoholic product differs from a soft drink as it is a beverage intentionally crafted to mimic traditional alcoholic drinks like beer, wine, or spirits but with very little to no alcohol content. A full definition of an alcohol substitute drink can be found in regulation 9 to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy Regulations 2018, which are available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/41/made
This policy is being pursued as these alcohol substitute drinks are intended for consumption by adults and should not be sold or supplied to children.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the EU-UK Common Understanding, published on 19 May 2025, whether the dynamic alignment with the EU will apply to standards and regulations on the production and marketing of (a) wine and (b) other types of alcohol.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Rules related to the production and marketing of wine and spirits are outside the scope of the UK-EU SPS Agreement meaning dynamic alignment with the EU will not apply in these areas. Retaining this regulatory autonomy is important for this sector and will benefit the UK economy as a whole.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the readiness of the supply chain to implement a deposit return scheme; and if he will engage with the wine and spirits industry on steps to implement such a scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is fully committed to a Deposit Return Scheme and will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland to launch the scheme across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in October 2027.
The Department has been working closely with industry, including the wines and spirits sector, during the development of DRS policy and legislation. Officials have engaged with the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) and the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) who have been acting as Industry Champions of the DRS Small Producers sub-group, working alongside the UK and devolved governments.
In England and Northern Ireland, glass will not be in scope of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers. Scottish Government have also agreed to exclude glass from the DRS to progress the delivery of the schemes. This means most wine and spirit drinks containers will not be included in the scheme, only those supplied in PET plastic, aluminium and steel containers will be in scope of the scheme.
We aim to appoint the industry-led scheme administrator, the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), in April 2025. The DMO will work with industry and support them to implement DRS in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help the wine and spirits industry manage the implementation of a UK-wide Deposit Return Scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is fully committed to a Deposit Return Scheme and will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland to launch the scheme across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in October 2027.
The Department has been working closely with industry, including the wines and spirits sector, during the development of DRS policy and legislation. Officials have engaged with the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) and the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) who have been acting as Industry Champions of the DRS Small Producers sub-group, working alongside the UK and devolved governments.
In England and Northern Ireland, glass will not be in scope of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers. Scottish Government have also agreed to exclude glass from the DRS to progress the delivery of the schemes. This means most wine and spirit drinks containers will not be included in the scheme, only those supplied in PET plastic, aluminium and steel containers will be in scope of the scheme.
We aim to appoint the industry-led scheme administrator, the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), in April 2025. The DMO will work with industry and support them to implement DRS in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of Wednesday 6 November to Questions 12253, 12254, 12255 and 12256 on Government Hospitality: Wines and Government Hospitality: Spirits, who the attendees were of the December 2023 Minister-led event to mark the centenary of the Government Wine Cellar.
Answered by Catherine West
Pursuant to the answer to questions 12253, 12254, 12255 and 12256 attendees at the December 23 Centenary event were the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister responsible for the Government Wine Cellar at that time, Chairs and Members of the Government Wine Committee, past and present, their guests and two officials.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with (a) manufacturers and (b) importers on the public health benefits of making non-alcoholic (i) beer, (ii) lager, (iii) spirits and (iv) wine products lower cost than the alcoholic alternatives.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government has set out its ambition to create a National Health Service fit for the future, which includes prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Government will continue to consider how best to address and reduce alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the impact on excise duty receipts of the duty rates for wine and spirits introduced on 1 August 2023.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook report in November 2023. The publication contained an alcohol duty revenue forecast up to and including 2028-29 and was inclusive of all previous and planned future changes to alcohol duty rates including the changes to wine and spirits duty rates on 1 August 2023.
Table 2.12 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Economic and Fiscal Outlook report contains separate receipt forecasts by type of alcohol.