Annual sales of beer in Britain declined by 1.5% in 2015, according to the quarterly Beer Barometer survey from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
The decline represents a loss of 114 million pints from Britain’s pubs, bars and restaurants, as off-trade sales in shops and supermarkets held steady in 2015.
With the Budget looming on March 16, campaigners say this is not time for the Chancellor to start reversing his three historic cuts in beer duty in the last three Budgets – particularly as the sector faces big financial challenges in the year ahead. There will be rising costs from the national living wage, higher business rates and the apprenticeship levy all hitting the bottom line for Britain’s pubs.
UK beer drinkers already pay some of the highest beer taxes in the EU — twice the European average, and 13 times higher than in Germany, where beer duty is just 4p a pint compared to 52p here.
The BBPA is campaigning hard with others, including the Campaign for Real Ale, for a fourth penny cut, to safeguard jobs in the sector, mostly in Britain’s much-loved community pubs.
BBPA chief executive, Brigid Simmonds, said: “The figures are certainly not all bad news as, overall, Britain’s beer sales have stabilised over the past three years following years of sharp decline, due to the disastrous tax policy of the beer duty escalator, which saw beer tax rise by 42% from 2008 to 2013.
“Since then, we have seen growing confidence in the sector, but the figures show this is no time for complacency, and any return to tax rises would wipe out this fragile recovery.
“We need another one penny cut in the Budget — to safeguard jobs and much-loved pubs, and to help Britain’s hard pressed beer drinkers.”
