I appreciate concerns regarding the future of alcohol duty and I look forward to hearing more about this at the forthcoming Autumn Budget.
As you will be aware from the 2017 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that tax on beer, cider, wine and spirits would again be frozen. This follows the removal of the beer duty escalator in 2013 and the unprecedented cuts and freezes in beer duty since then, as well as the removal of the duty escalator for spirits, wine and cider in 2014.
I also recognise the important contribution that pubs make to our local communities, and welcome the Government’s efforts to support this through the taxation system. A £1,000 discount on business rate bills is being applied in both 2017-18 and 2018-19 for all pubs with a rateable value lower than £100,000. This applies to 90 per cent of pubs and is in recognition of the valuable role they play in our communities.