Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of fiscal support his Department is providing to pubs.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and to the UK economy.
The Government is aware that the high street faces long-term challenges and is committed to supporting the businesses that make our high streets and town centres successful. Therefore, at Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including:
Furthermore, to support pubs, our 'Brexit Pubs Guarantee,' confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket. And the new alcohol duty system implemented in August of this year included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on beers below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade.
The Community Ownership Fund has awarded £49.3 million to 195 projects across the UK, including rural pubs, with £35 million allocated to 131 projects across England, £6.2 million allocated to 28 projects in Scotland, £4 million to 18 projects in Wales and £4.1 million to 18 projects in Northern Ireland.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help support small businesses in the hospitality industry; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the VAT threshold for those businesses.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government understands the vital role the hospitality industry plays in the UK economy. This is why, for example, the Government announced a package of business rates support at Autumn Statement 2022 which means businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, including pubs, will receive a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-24. Eligible properties will receive 75 per cent off their business rates bill, up to a cap of £110,000 per business.
The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. At £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years. While some businesses have argued that a higher threshold would reduce administrative and financial burdens, others contend that a lower threshold would provide a fairer competitive environment.
The Government continues to keep all taxes under review.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support pubs with increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and the UK economy. And we understand the challenges pubs are facing.
That is why the new alcohol duty system implemented on 1 August 2023 included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more in pubs and other on-trade venues. As well as this, the Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee,’ confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket.
Pubs also benefit from a broader package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years, including a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme which increased from 50% to 75% relief in 2023-24. And community assets have benefitted from the Community Ownership Fund, which has allocated £49.3m to 195 projects across the UK, including pubs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the number of pubs that have been (a) demolished, (b) converted and (c) sold in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not hold data at this granular level. We do believe that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and the UK economy. And we understand the challenges pubs are facing.
That is why the alcohol duty system, implemented in August, included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade. As well as this, the Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee,’ confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket.
Pubs also benefit from a broader package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years, including a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme which increased from 50% to 75% relief in 2023-24.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the VAT charged on alcohol supplied by (a) pubs and (b) supermarkets on the level of competition between those sectors.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including alcohol sold at both pubs and supermarkets. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.
The Government understands the vital role the hospitality industry plays in the UK economy. We have implemented a new alcohol duty system on 1 August, which also has many benefits for pubs. The new Draught Relief provides a significant duty discount on alcohol sold in containers of 20 litres or more, in pubs and other on-trade venues. As well as this, the Government’s ‘Brexit Pubs Guarantee,’ confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket.
The Government continues to keep all taxes under review.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support pubs.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We understand the many challenges pubs are facing. The Government is supporting pubs with business rates relief, the Brexit Pubs Guarantee, and help with energy costs. We are also working across Government to identify opportunities to ease regulatory and licensing burdens.
We continue to work with businesses, including members of the Hospitality Sector Council, to deliver our 2021 Hospitality Strategy, which aims to support the sector's recovery from COVID-19 and improve longer term resilience.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to Question 198559 on Energy: Hospitality Industry, whether she has received representations from (a) UK Hospitality, (b) the British Beer and Pub Association, or (c) hospitality businesses about energy companies refusing to supply (i) pubs, (ii) restaurants and (iii) other hospitality premises.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department regularly answers correspondence on issues related to the retail energy market, including those raised by representatives from the hospitality industry. The Department regularly meets with stakeholders from this industry. On 12th September, I met again with the UK Hospitality CEO, Kate Nicholls, where we discussed UK Hospitality’s views on the Ofgem review into the non-domestic energy market.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislation to enable pubs to serve take away pints permanently.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In order to continue to support the hospitality sector, the Government recently announced the extension of the temporary off-sales regulatory easement - set out in the Business and Planning Act 2020 - until 31 March 2025. This extension enables holders of licences that only cover ‘on sales’ to continue to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, including ‘takeaway pints’, for a further 18 months.
The Government is considering next steps and continues to keep the Licensing Act 2003 under review.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2023 to Question 197611 on Beer: Excise Duties, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide an exemption to paying full duty on containers for on-trade premises whose takeaway sales are ancillary to the sale for consumption on the premises.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The core objective of Draught Relief is to recognise the cultural importance of pubs and other on-trade venues as community hubs and to encourage responsible drinking in supervised settings.
Draught Relief does not prevent pubs and other on-trade venues from selling takeaway pints. Businesses have the ability to purchase full duty paid containers should they wish to decant from the container and sell beverages for their customers to consume off-site.
The Government believes it is right that beverages that are sold to be consumed off-site should pay the full rate of duty like their equivalents sold in off-trade venues. We remain open to considering any additional suggestions the industry may have which would result in the full duty being paid for beverages consumed off premises.
The Government will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes take effect on 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts in the alcohol market and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that the labelling of alcohol products includes calorie information.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’, published in 2020, we committed to consult on whether to introduce calorie labelling on prepacked alcohol and alcohol sold in on-trade businesses such as pubs and restaurants.