Beer drinkers are raising a glass today after the chancellor bowed to pressure by calling time on the beer duty escalator in yesterday’s budget. This means that the cost of a pint of beer will no longer automatically rise by 2 per cent above inflation every year.
5,800 pubs have closed since the beer duty escalator was introduced in 2008
The news has been welcomed by the industry and campaigners who were treated to a bonus with the announcement that the cost of a pint will fall by a penny on Sunday night.
Since the escalator was introduced in 2008, it is estimated that 5,800 pubs have closed their doors for good. These properties, which were once at the heart of their communities, are then either subject to change of use or, far too frequently, demolished.
Yesterday’s announcement acknowledged this and later Community Pubs Minister, Brandon Lewis, described it as ‘great news for pubs and punters alike.’
“We’ve already doubled small business rate relief for three and a half years and given communities the power to save local pubs from closure by taking them over and running them as cooperatives.
“And today’s announcement gives people yet another good reason to get behind their community pub and raise a glass to their local,” he said.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which has been lobbying for the scrapping of the beer duty escalator since last year’s budget, declared the news as a ‘triumph’ for its members and thanked the volunteers who have given the campaign their support.
While this move will not solve all the difficulties faced by the industry, it will undoubtedly ease the pressure on pubs and help to protect the jobs of 10,000 people, 45 per cent of whom are aged under-25.
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