Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The beer and pub sector has ambitious net zero targets, and our members are committed to working collaboratively to achieve circular economy goals.
While these estimated fees provide long-overdue clarity, they sharply reinforce our concerns about the eye-watering additional costs brewers will be expected to bear from next year and impact on customers.
These preliminary figures could add up to 7p on each of the 3.2 billion bottles of beer sold in the UK annually, which would mean up to £212m in total. This could be the equivalent of a 21% beer duty increase on these products and inevitably will lead to price increases for consumers.
The British brewing industry is a key part of the UK’s manufacturing base and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in the country. Not only that, but brewers are leading the way in investing in low strength and alcohol-free variants, supporting public health goal. Despite all of that, it is one of the highest taxed sectors. The Government must recognise the cumulative impact of their packaging reforms at the upcoming Budget and cut beer duty to safeguard Britain’s brewers and ensure the UK remains an attractive place for investment.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the British Beer & Pub Association
The BBPA is the UK’s leading trade association representing pubs and breweries. Our members brew over 90% of British beer and own over 20,000 pubs.
We are the voice of pubs and brewers, offering insight and policy thinking to government, political stakeholders and media alike to help ensure that there is an in-depth understanding of both the opportunities and challenges faced by the sector and the policy solutions to bring about the optimal fiscal and policy framework that will underpin a thriving pub and brewing sector in the UK.
The UK’s beer and pub industry supports close to 940,000 jobs and industry adds £26.2billion to the UK’s economy each year
Media Contact: Press, press@beerandpub.com
Third-party news items that are posted on the Guild website’s news section come from press releases received by the Guild. These press releases are posted as they have been received and their publication on the Guild website is intended as an informational service provided to our members and website visitors. As such, the publication of a story from a third-party source is neither an endorsement of the content, nor its sender, by the Guild. For enquiries on any news item, please use the contact details that can be found at the bottom of each post.