Ketts Tavern landlady Dawn Hopkins celebrating the Budget news for pubs with a pint and some of her regulars. Picture: Denise Bradley
Beer tax cut welcomed as a ‘step in the right direction’ but Norwich landlords call for more action
Richard Wheeler
Thursday, March 21, 2013
10:40 AM
Landlords have urged the government to keep the cuts flowing for Norwich’s community pubs - after raising a glass to the end of automatic tax hikes on beer.
Chancellor George Osborne yesterday announced he will scrap the beer duty escalator, which increased by 2pc above inflation every year, while also cutting tax by 1p on every pint from Sunday night.
Campaigners welcomed the “surprise” move as a sign Westminster is finally listening to their attempts to revive the industry, which is backed by the Evening News’ Love Your Local campaign, and halt the closure of several key community hubs.
But they warned the lasting legacy of recent government policies, from both Labour and the coalition, had seen beer duty increase by 42pc since 2008, with the 1p cut announced yesterday making little headway into that figure.
It also remains to be seen whether any price freezes or cuts will be passed onto customers, as publicans battle rising costs elsewhere in their budgets.
These include VAT, rising utility bills, staff wages, business rates and pub companies increasing rents and beer prices, while landlords also attempt to invest in their pubs to find new ways of attracting business.
Dawn Hopkins, who runs The Ketts Tavern and The Rose in Norwich, helped in the fight against the beer duty escalator including speaking at a mass rally near the Houses of Parliament.
She said last night: “I am very pleased. I didn’t expect it despite the fantastic campaign going on - pubs and drinkers have been overlooked for so long.
“There was hope it [the beer duty escalator] would change. The industry is struggling and the beer duty escalator is just one part of it - to have it recognised that it’s causing problems and by scrapping it may help our futures.”
Mrs Hopkins said the announcement will mean the price of a pint will not go up this year.
She said: “It’s horrible when you have to put prices up - it’s a disappointment to us and punters. If you try and absorb the price increases we’ve had from beer duty or brewers, and there’s very little money as it is, then there’s no money for the business, there’s no money to move things forward, employ staff and there’s very little money for publicans to pay themselves. No-one wants to work 60/70 hours below minimum wage.”
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) gathered more than 100,000 names on a petition which led to a parliamentary debate on the escalator last year.
It is estimated 18 pubs a week have been closing and about £1 of the price of a pint is taken in VAT and duties.
Phil Cutter, landlord at The Murderers in Timberhill, Norwich, added: “I don’t think there’s a single pub up and down the country which has not let out a cheer now the beer duty escalator has been scrapped.
“It’s a step in the right direction but it doesn’t resolve the disparity between the price we pay in pubs compared to supermarkets. But it’s a starting point.”
Mr Cutter said he will spend the coming days working out if prices will increase slightly or not.
He said: “Even though there’s been a reduction to the beer duty, overall costs are still increasing.”
Health concerns have been raised in response to efforts to make alcohol cheaper to buy, an issue Camra disputes. It claims higher beer taxes encourage people to purchase higher-strength alcohol which is sold at lower prices in supermarkets.
Wines and spirits are still set to be subject to duty increases from the government.
Victoria MacDonald, who runs the King’s Head in Brooke, south of Norwich, said it would be down to the wholesalers to determine whether the price of a pint would come down.
She said: “It’s more a case that it won’t go up now. However, a cut in VAT would have been fantastic, and that would have led to an instant change in the price of a pint.”
Norwich South MP Simon Wright said he believed the beer duty changes will make a “big difference to hard-pressed” pubs in the city.
He said: “Pubs play an important role in our city’s communities and are part of our heritage. Having previously raised the importance of scrapping the beer duty escalator with the chancellor, I’m very pleased that he’s responded.”
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11 comments
What no answer on that question of price?- Ian?
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biglingers
Friday, March 22, 2013
Ian S - I can't afford to shop in M&S, obviously publicans can!
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Only Me
Friday, March 22, 2013
Maybe if Pubs stop charging more for water and soft drinks than they do for beer they might regain some lost customers + real Publicans are needed, not the wannabe restauranteurs that seem to be running these establishments at the moment, in the main they are producing "Pub Grub" at "Restaurant Prices"
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Orson Carter
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Ian, what do you charge fo a pint of keg bitter? This pub I quote has reducedprices across theboard - do you?
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biglingers
Thursday, March 21, 2013
"Do publicans do anything but whine?" - yes, work very hard! Of course they're not going to reduce their prices - for a start, it's not the publicans who pay the duty it's the brewers, so if pubs reduced their prices they'd be losing out unless the brewers do as well. What they (brewers and pubs) will do, because the BDE has stopped, is not have to put their price UP again as soon as they would have had to. Anyone selling pints for £1.80 is doing so as a loss leader on selected products - no way they could so that across the board.
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Ian S
Thursday, March 21, 2013
"Greedy landlords"!! You must be joking! Most work all hours of the day just to make a basic living! Many are going bankrupt. And of course prices go up or down 10p at a time - do you really think pub landlords have the time to adjust every price every time any of their costs goes up or down? Do M&S ever change prices by less than 50p? No - it's either £5, £5.50 or £6 etc.
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Ian S
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Do publicans do anything but whine? Anyone going to CUT their price? I won't hold my breath! Anyone betting on a price increase? I am. Why can I buy a pint in the city for £1.80, and near me £3.30?
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biglingers
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Has anyone else noticed that beer always goes up by 10p a time - £2.50 to £2.60 to £2.70 etc? So what difference is this going to make? Greedy landlords will just stick another 10p on and benefit by 11p.
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Only Me
Thursday, March 21, 2013
I must confess to being totally bemused by the media coverage of this non-event. If a beer fan was to drink 4 pints EVERY day for a year, the saving would be under £15; and yet the media is reacting as though a cure for cancer has been announced, rather than just another example of shallow, populist political posturing.
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airborneyellow
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Will this be like the previous 1p cut in fuel tax where it was not passed on to the customer. In fact they went and put the price up by more than 1p !. I am not holding my breath over this one.
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"V"
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Only 300 drinks to go to get a free one!
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omnishambles
Thursday, March 21, 2013