Pubs are a significant part of our community. For generations, they have been a place to meet, to socialise and to relax. We are however seeing changing consumer trends and the sector under pressure. On average across the UK, 21 pubs close for good every week. Over the years, we’ve seen some neighbourhood pubs close in Crawley, which has been a loss for those areas.
While reduced overall alcohol consumption is better for health, it has impacted the pub trade and we’ve seen a greater share of alcohol being consumed at home as opposed to in public houses. Added to changing consumer habits, we’ve seen higher energy costs, higher wages and higher production costs, all of which have put more pressure on the sector.
Our pubs have social value and are worthy of support, including from government. I’m pleased that our Conservative government have recognised this and continue to provide that support. We have just seen a six-month alcohol duty freeze take effect, lasting up to 1 August 2024.
This tax saving will help support pubs who face rising costs. This duty freeze comes in addition to £4.3 billion in business rates cuts and duty protection for pints sold in pubs. This will impact around 38,175 pubs across the country and was announced as part of a multi-billion support package by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn Statement, which also included £4.3 billion business rates relief.
Our government has listened to the industry. This six-month duty freeze follows the biggest reform of alcohol duties that took effect last August. For the first time in over 140 years, the alcohol duty system was simplified so the duty paid reflected the amount of alcohol in it. These reforms cut duty on pints in pubs by up to 11p when compared to supermarkets, helping to address the trend to home drinking. Not increasing alcohol duty in line with inflation has now saved a further 3p for the duty on a typical pint of beer, 2p for a pint of cider, 4p for a glass of whisky, and 18p for a bottle of wine.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
7th February 2024
