Public Houses: Government Assistance
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support (a) pubs and (b) breweries in (i) Richmond Park constituency and (ii) the United Kingdom.
Answered by James Murray
Pubs make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, and this is recognised in the tax system.
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint. This reduction increased the relief available on draught products to 13.9%.
The Chancellor also confirmed her intention to introduce permanently lower business rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs, from 2026-27, and in the interim extend the current RHL relief for 1-year at 40%, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
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