SIBA welcomes Chancellor to ‘penny off the pint’ celebration
l-r: George Osborne, Brigid Simmonds, chief executive, British Beer & Pub Association and Keith Bott, SIBA chairman
Mr Osborne was roundly applauded by the room for his decision to reduce the duty on beer for the first time since 1959. A similarly warm reception awaited Sajid Javid, economic secretary to the Treasury, who joined the gathering later in the evening.
Bott said, “It was important to recognise and thank the Chancellor and his advisors for last week’s decision. We are also immensely grateful to Andrew Griffiths and Greg Mulholland, who campaigned tirelessly for this very welcome reform. Not only did we achieve a greater duty reduction than we had ever thought possible, we also saw beer being separated from other alcoholic drinks – something we have wanted for many years.
“Given the continuing squeeze on the economy, getting a cut in beer duty was an outstanding result. It’s one that we achieved by uniting as an industry and showing policymakers the positive role that pubs play in this country, contributing to the economy and providing employment.
He continued, “SIBA is uniquely placed to demonstrate the benefits of Government investment, in the form of Small Breweries’ Relief, which we have communicated consistently in our campaigning. Many of our brewer members contacted their MPs to reinforce this message, as was evident in the pivotal Parliamentary Debate on beer duty last November, when so many MPs spoke in praise of breweries and pubs in their constituency.
“All SIBA members should be very proud of the role they played in bringing about this outstanding result for the great British pint.”
