Speculation of a rise in National Insurance and wages, which many pubs and publicans simply cannot afford, is troubling the Campaign for Pubs.
The campaign has written to the Chancellor and expressed very serious concern on behalf of UK publicans of the potential impact on pubs if these rises were to go ahead.
It has urged the Chancellor not to increase National Insurance on small businesses. Where there are to be any increases in costs for small businesses that will have a further significant impact on pubs and other small businesses, they must be balanced with vital tax relief or they will simply lead to reductions in staff numbers, plus the further loss of pubs, says the group.
The campaign has called on the government to maintain existing reliefs, notably on business rates, which is essential to help pubs get through the current crisis.
It has also called for the promised overhaul of the whole business rates system, action to tackle unfairly high energy bills for small businesses, and the cancellation of Covid debt for pubs with outstanding and unaffordable bounceback loans.
Due to the cost of living crisis, alongside inadequate government support to compensate for the loss sustained by Covid lockdowns and restrictions, many pubs have not been able to ‘bounce back’ and can’t pay off these debts.
The campaign stresses the need for direct support, not tinkering with beer duty and other alcohol duties, which does not make any meaningful difference to help pubs and publicans.
Any cuts to beer duty funnel tens of millions of pounds of tax relief to the global brewers and giant pubcos, who do not need support, while having a negligible impact on pubs, publicans, and pub customers. Even draught duty relief is principally beneficial to the big brewers and has a very small impact on pubs, says the campaign.
Longer term, the campaign is calling for a new small retailer relief to be introduced in the VAT system, whereby independent pubs and other independent small retailers would have a lower rate of VAT than huge chains.
‘It is vital that the government listens to the voices of publicans’
“It is deeply worrying that, at this hugely challenging time for pubs, instead of offering support to get us through the cost of living crisis, the government is considering slapping extra costs onto publicans through increases in National Insurance and wages,” said publican and campaign vice-chair Dawn Hopkins.
“This is simply not possible for many pubs at the moment, and so all it will do is see staff hours cut, people laid off, and more pubs closing. This is all the opposite of growing the economy, which is what Rachel Reeves says she wants to do, as well as putting at risk thousands of hundreds of pubs and thousands of jobs.
“Our pubs urgently need support, and it is vital that the government listens to the voices of publicans — if not, we risk losing even more pubs at an alarming and unprecedented rate.”
Phil Saltonstall, brewer representative of the campaign founder of Brass Castle Brewery, said: “The UK’s small brewers are desperate for some signs of hope from the upcoming Budget. Year on year, Budget adjustments revert to an alcohol duty soundbite that favours multi-national brewers rather than pubgoers and presents big beer with yet another competitive advantage over our indigenous beer manufacturers.
“We are watching fantastic and innovative SME brewers blip out of existence on a daily basis as they fail to cope with the myriad obstacles to market access, and trading penalties imposed or reinforced by recent budget measures and other government policies.
“Small UK brewers employ disproportionately more staff than the multi-nationals, provide product range to consumers, provide revenue to the Exchequer, and are always the first businesses to flexibly embrace new technologies and green opportunities.
“We urge you to make good on the promise to help us be an engine for growth, rather than be sacrificed for the convenience of the government’s relationship with big beer lobbyists.”
It’s Beer Today’s 20th anniversary this month!
I love updating this site, but it needs more Patreon supporters to survive into the future. Individual supporters are particularly welcome, and there are great options for commercial businesses which involve social media sharing, advertorial opportunities and advertising discounts. Find out more at patreon.com/beertoday.
