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Spirits

Asked by Carolyn HarrisLabourTreasuryTabled Answered 17 October 2025UIN 78323

The question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the value of the UK spirits sector to the economy in (a) employment, (b) exports and (c) tax revenue.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson

(a) The Office for National Statistics' Business Register and Employment Survey (2023 edition) estimates total (part-time and full-time) employment in Great Britain for the Distilling; rectifying and blending of spirits industry is 13,700 workers.

(b) HMRC’s overseas trade data estimates that the value of UK spirits exports (excluding undenatured ethyl alcohol) in the 2024 calendar year was £6.6 billion.

(c) HMRC’s tax receipt statistics indicate that the value of alcohol duty paid on spirits for 2024 to 2025 is £4.2 billion.

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