Tag: 2022

Rebecca Long-Bailey – 2022 Speech on NHS Dentistry in Salford and Eccles

The speech made by Rebecca Long-Bailey, the Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, in the House of Commons on 19 December 2022.

The British Dental Association states that NHS dentistry is facing an existential threat. It says that the threat predates the pandemic, when only enough dentistry for about half the population of England was commissioned. Access to NHS dental services was already very poor in many parts of the country, but access problems have now reached an unprecedented scale, with existing deep inequalities in access and outcomes set to widen. Sadly, nowhere are those access problems more acutely felt than in my constituency of Salford and Eccles. I have been receiving unprecedented levels of casework from people who simply cannot access an NHS dentist.

One constituent works night shifts on minimum wage. She had required urgent root canal treatment for some time but could not find an NHS dentist and could not even contemplate the cost of a private dentist, so, like millions across the country, she struggled on. The problem is now so severe that her tooth is beyond saving with root canal treatment. She is having to consider having it removed, which she is told will cost her several hundred pounds. She has not got several hundred pounds. She does not know where to turn.

Another constituent, who is also on a low income, had been trying to find an NHS dentist for over two years. They had two broken teeth and other dental issues that they could not afford to have treated privately, so they called the emergency dentist helpline. The helpline advised them to go for private treatment. Now, at only 21 years of age, my constituent cannot afford any dental treatment at all, and they fear that they will end up losing their teeth.

Another constituent, who is registered with a disability and who works full-time for the NHS on low pay, tried as far as Rochdale and Oldham but eventually had to pay £250 for a private tooth removal that left her with little money to live on until her next pay cheque.

To assess the severity of the situation, my office rang every single dental practice listed on the NHS website as falling within my constituency, to inquire if they were accepting new adult NHS patients. Every single one said no, and only two said that they were taking on new NHS child patients. What is worse, when I raised that very issue with the Government back in October 2021, I was informed that they had not made an assessment of the numbers of people refused NHS dental treatment, nor did they hold any waiting list data at all on access to NHS dental services in Salford or Greater Manchester. Not even to be aware of the scale of the problem is, in itself, somewhat staggering.

As I am sure the Minister is aware, this is not just a Salford problem, but a national one. Researchers for the BBC documentary “Disappearing Dentists”, which aired in August, attempted to call every one of the dental practices in the UK that holds an NHS contract. Of the 26 dental practices with NHS contracts across Salford, 96% were not taking new adult NHS patients, and UK-wide, 90% of practices were not taking new adult NHS patients.

I must pay full credit to the local staff and teams across Salford: all the dentists, hygienists, therapists, nurses and administrators, and the Greater Manchester integrated care partnership’s dental commissioning team. They are giving their absolute best in incredibly difficult circumstances. However, our dental services are under unprecedented strain.

I would be grateful if the Minister addressed the following issues in his response. First, there has been chronic underfunding of NHS dental services. In real terms, net Government spend on general dental practice in England was cut by over a quarter between 2010 and 2020. It is also important to note that England invests significantly less in dental services per head of population than other parts of the UK. For example, before the pandemic Government spend on NHS dentistry per capita was £37 in England, compared with £49 in Wales, £56 in Northern Ireland and £59 in Scotland. The Minister might respond by saying that in January the Government pledged £50 million for a “dentistry treatment blitz”. However, that was a time-limited, one-off injection of funding which had very modest take-up, as practices were so overstretched in trying to hit unrealistic activity targets that they struggled to find any additional capacity. The British Dental Association estimates that it would take £1.5 billion a year just to restore dental budgets to their 2010 levels. I hope that the Minister will agree to take back a proposal to his Department for the ringfencing of long-term funding on that scale.

Secondly, the current target-based NHS dental contract is causing serious problems in the recruitment and retention of staff. The British Dental Association says that we are facing an “exodus” of dentists from the service: 75% of dentists surveyed are thinking of reducing their NHS commitments next year alone. Central to this is not only the issue of chronic underfunding that I have already mentioned, but the current discredited target-based dental contract that was imposed on the profession in 2006 and was widely considered unsustainable and unfit for purpose even before the pandemic. Indeed, in 2010 both Labour and the Conservatives committed to amending the contract. It sets restrictions on the number of NHS patients that a dentist can see, and it punishes dentists for taking on new patients with high needs.

The Minister may, of course, refer to a package of marginal changes that the Government introduced in November, including dentists’ updating a “find a dentist” website regularly with details of the availability of appointments, a higher reward for treating three or more teeth, and a new payment rate for complex treatment. While those are of course welcome changes, sadly there is little point in setting up a “find a dentist” website for appointments when the Government know that no appointments are actually available.

Furthermore, the British Dental Association states that the changes will do little to arrest the exodus of dentists from the service or to address the crisis in patient access, given that they have been introduced with no additional funding. With that in mind, I would be grateful if the Minister told me when formal negotiations on fundamental long-term reform of the dental contract are due to begin.

A constituent contacted me to express concern about the Government’s plan to go ahead with proposed changes pursuant to the recent consultation on changes to the General Dental Council’s international registration legislation despite the large number of respondents who have raised issues relating to the proposal. I hope that the Minister will take those concerns on board, and will agree to review it.

Thirdly, let me stress to the Minister that NHS dentistry must cease to be treated as an afterthought in healthcare policymaking. Changes in primary care commissioning in the Health and Care Act 2022 must not lead to further cuts, and dental services must be represented adequately in the governance structures of the new integrated care systems.

Let me finally point out that prevention is key, but has lost its way somewhat in recent years. The Government must undertake to build on historical commitments to prevention, in parallel with support for dental services. That must include supervised brushing in early years settings, dedicated funding for new water fluoridation schemes, and measures to reduce sugar consumption.

I hope that the Minister has listened to the concerns I have raised and will address each point in turn, rather than reiterating previous Government responses on what they have done so far. What the Government have done so far clearly is not working. If my constituents cannot get access to an NHS dentist across Salford and Eccles, something needs to change urgently. Access to dental treatment should be a right, not a luxury.

As I set out at the start, NHS dentistry faces an existential threat. My constituents are not receiving the access to care that they deserve. It is clear that urgent action is required. Finally, let me take this opportunity to wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, a fantastic Christmas and a happy New Year, and the same to the Minister and all staff in the House.

December 20, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Increased fishing opportunities worth £750 million agreed for 2023 [December 2022]

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 December 2022.

The UK fishing industry will benefit from 140,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities worth over £280 million in 2023 after the UK today (20 December 2022) reached an agreement with the EU.

This brings the total value of fishing opportunities secured for the UK fleet in 2023 in the three main negotiation forums to £750 million, a £34 million increase from last year.

In the third year of annual fisheries negotiations with the UK operating as an independent coastal state, the UK and EU today agreed catch levels for 69 important fish stocks. This included some of the most commercially valuable stocks to the UK fishing industry such as North Sea Nephrops (£54m), Anglerfish (£31m) and Western hake (£25m).

Throughout the negotiations, the UK Government has worked closely with the devolved administrations to ensure fishing communities across the UK will benefit from the agreement. The Scottish industry, for example, will benefit from improved catch levels for North Sea stocks including cod, hake, whiting and nephrops.

The agreement also commits the UK and EU to work together to provide more sustainable fisheries management.

Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said:

Our agreement with the EU secures valuable fishing opportunities for the UK fishing industry while cementing our joint commitment to manage fisheries sustainably.

These decisions are based on the latest scientific advice to help protect key fish stocks with the long-term health of the marine environment at the forefront of our minds.

We are backing the fishing industry across the country to succeed, with a landmark £100m investment in infrastructure, skills and better scientific data so that our fishing industry thrives for generations to come.

This latest deal follows an agreement with the UK, EU and Norway on six North Sea fish stocks including cod, haddock and herring worth £202m to the UK fishing industry, and a further £11 million in stocks in other waters around the UK.

In the same week, the UK secured catch limits worth a further £256m with the North East Atlantic coastal States, while an agreement with Norway last month will see the UK fishing industry benefit from fishing opportunities worth £5 million in 2023.

Sustainability has been at the heart of the UK’s approach to all the negotiations to ensure key fish stocks are protected and to support the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry. Wherever possible, catch levels have been set in line with, or lower than, the level advised by scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), and there is an estimated 13% increase in catch levels that align with ICES advice compared to last year.

The outcome of annual fisheries negotiations will be published in the Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats by the end of the year.

The UK has also started negotiations with the Faroe Islands on exchanges of fishing opportunities for 2023.

£100m UK Seafood Fund

The UK fishing industry is currently receiving a significant funding investment from the UK Government to help modernise its facilities, train and upskill fishermen, and invest in better scientific research on key fish stocks.

Last month, Defra announced £20 million from the UK Seafood Fund had been awarded to expand processing facilities for popular British fish like Scottish salmon, mackerel and herring. A further £30 million is now available for infrastructure projects in the latest round of funding open for bids.

Last week, five pioneering research projects were awarded over £3.5 million through the Fisheries Industry Science Partnership (FISP) scheme to gather vital evidence to inform how we manage our fisheries and protect marine habitats across the UK. Almost 30 projects have received funding through FISP so far, and the fourth and final round opened earlier this month, running until midday on 19 January 2022.

December 20, 2022
Douglas Ross – 2022 Speech on Alcohol Duty

The speech made by Douglas Ross, the Conservative MP for Moray, in the House of Commons on 19 December 2022.

Douglas Ross (Moray) (Con)

It is encouraging to hear support from across the House for these duty reforms, which were originally announced as a manifesto commitment at Roseisle distillery in my constituency. Of course, Moray is home to more Scotch whisky distilleries than any other constituency in the House. [Interruption.] As my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart) says, many are very good ones. I have been pressing both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister to maintain the freeze on duty for Scotch whisky for as long as possible, which is important for the entire industry and the jobs that rely on it. Will the Exchequer Secretary take on board what the Father of the House said? When it comes to the Budget in March, will the Government listen to the industry, which has time after time proven wrong Treasury officials who predicted that an increase in duty would increase revenue to the Treasury? In fact, a freeze in duty increases revenue to the Treasury and it would be welcome to see that continuing.

James Cartlidge

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend, who speaks with great knowledge on these matters. He has been a consistent champion for the Scotch whisky industry, standing up for it in this place, whether on tariffs or duties. I know that he was lobbying the Chancellor and the Prime Minster to continue the freeze, so I hope that he is pleased with the result. On what happens going forward, I will engage with the Scotch whisky industry and indeed all the other alcohol sectors. The clear point is that the extension of the freeze is good news for every single sector and I hope that colleagues welcome that.

December 20, 2022
Stewart Hosie – 2022 Speech on Alcohol Duty

The speech made by Stewart Hosie, the SNP MP for Dundee East, in the House of Commons on 19 December 2022.

I welcome the statement. I have long supported an alcohol content duty regime, and I hope that it delivers the fairness that the sector needs. As a gentle aside, may I say that we did not need Brexit to bring in this regime? The UK could have applied for a derogation, but it chose, over decades, not to do that.

I have some technical questions. The previous Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), announced a one-year freeze on alcohol duty in “The Growth Plan 2022”; that was due to cost £545 million in 2023-24. The current Chancellor scrapped that, but anticipates an additional yield of £1.3 billion in 2023-24; that was in the autumn statement 2022. First, how can a one-year freeze cost £500 million, while its cancellation in the same year suddenly generates £1.3 billion of additional yield? Also, we have been told that the freeze is being reintroduced and will last until August. How much will that cost the Exchequer?

The proposals following the post-2021 Budget consultation have been reported as having a modest cost of only £25 million next year—that was in the autumn statement Green Book. But this statement seems to suggest that the cost to the Exchequer of the draught beer relief scheme alone will be £100 million a year. Will the Minister explain what the net cost of this measure will be either to the Exchequer, or to the industry? As things stand, the numbers are not clear and in some cases do not add up.

James Cartlidge

I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman supports the principle of the reform package that will come into place next August. I hope Members across the House can do so. The cost obviously depends on what decision is made in the Budget next year. That is a matter for the Chancellor at the time. We know that that will be on 15 March, so there is not too long to wait.

The right hon. Gentleman made the point that it was not necessary to leave the European Union to make these changes. To be clear, EU law does not allow member states to differentiate beverages on qualitative characteristics such as whether the product is on draught. EU law actively discourages any attempt to support the on-trade through the duty system. That is also true for a system based on ABV; by and large, that would have been very difficult as well. The fact is that this is a radical reform and it has been made possible by Brexit.

December 20, 2022
Peter Bottomley – 2022 Speech on Alcohol Duty

The speech made by Sir Peter Bottomley, the Father of the House, in the House of Commons on 19 December 2022.

Like the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Abena Oppong-Asare), who speaks for the Opposition, I support what has been announced today. I declare an interest: I drink most things, except super-strength draught cider.

On wine, using an average rate of 12.5% is right; stepped rates would not have worked, because growers do not know what strength a wine will be—the strength fluctuates naturally. A revenue-neutral level makes sense. I hope that this approach will continue beyond the 18 months.

I hope that the Minister will consider whether farm-gate concessions can be made for the growing number of vineyards in this country. I hope that between now and the Budget the Chancellor will calculate the price and tax elasticity, because often, when duty rates are frozen, revenue goes up. There have been times when the rate has gone up and the revenue has gone down, which is perverse.

James Cartlidge

I am grateful to the Father of the House for his question—I do not think that I will ever get another that mentions both elasticity and high-strength cider; it was an interesting combination of points. He made a very good point about wine. I have enjoyed engaging with all the main alcohol sectors, mainly in November, in the run-up to the making of this decision. As he knows, we are requiring all wine between 11.5% and 14.5% ABV to be treated as though it were 12.5% ABV for the purpose of calculating the duty rate. That will apply for 18 months, so there is a transition. We have to ask ourselves: if that were made permanent, would it not undermine a regime that is ultimately based on taxation by strength? I understand my hon. Friend’s point and will continue to engage with the sector on it.

December 20, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Appointment of Church Commissioner – Christopher “Kif” Hancock [December 2022]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 20 December 2022.

The King has approved that Mr Christopher “Kif” Hancock be appointed a Church Commissioner for five years effective from 1 January 2023, in succession to Mr Duncan Owen who resigns on 31 December 2022.

Background

Christopher “Kif” Hancock is a partner and CIO International at Brown Advisory. He is a highly credible and experienced capital allocator and Chair of Brown’s International Investment Committee. His professional experience includes time living and working in Europe, Asia and North America with both for-profit and non-profit organisations. Since joining Brown in 2008, Kif has obtained considerable knowledge of working with and advising both institutional and private clients (including international experience) and a strong track record of capital allocation across equities, alternatives, and fixed-income investments. He is an American but he and his family have been residents in England for many years.

Kif is a Committed Christian and volunteers for his local churches in London and Oxfordshire (St. Michael’s Chester Square and St Andrew’s Church, Kingham).

December 20, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Government extends Mortgage Guarantee Scheme [December 2022]
The press release issued by HM Treasury on 20 December 2022.
- The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme will be extended by a year, having already helped over 24,000 households get onto the property ladder
- Launched in April 2021, the scheme supports first-time buyers, who make up 85% of scheme transactions, buy a home with a 5% deposit
- The scheme is just one of the ways the government is helping people with home ownership
Under the scheme the government offers lenders the financial guarantees they need to provide mortgages that cover the other 95%, subject to the usual affordability checks, on a house worth up to £600,000.

Launched in April 2021, the scheme has already helped over 24,000 households. It was originally planned to close at the end of this year but will now be extended until the end of 2023.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen MP said:

For hard-working families facing today’s challenging economic conditions, it’s right that we continue to help them secure their first home or move into their dream house.

Extending this scheme means thousands more have the chance to benefit, and supports the market as we navigate through these difficult times.

Since 2010, more than 687,000 households have been helped into home ownership through government schemes. First time buyers often find it hard to save for a large deposit, and the mortgage guarantee has helped over 24,000 households (as of November 2022) overcome this barrier and secure the keys to a new home with a deposit as small as 5%.

As well as first time buyers and current homeowners, the scheme has also helped support the wider housing sector. Lenders reduced the availability of high LTV products during the Covid-19 pandemic, with just eight 95% LTV products available in January 2021. The government’s Mortgage Guarantee Scheme helped restore competition and consumer choice to the market, which has benefited businesses and boosted the market.

To also support people to get onto the property ladder, the government has increased the level where first-time buyers start paying stamp duty from £300,000 to £425,000. Furthermore, first-time buyers can get relief on properties costing up to £625,000, as opposed to £500,000 previously. Both of these measures are time-limited to April 2025.

The government has also continued to provide a range of other options to support home ownership and the wider housing sector. For example, the Help to Buy ISA and Lifetime ISA have collectively facilitated over 618,000 households get on to the property ladder.
December 20, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : New appointments to the Animal Welfare Committee [December 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 December 2022.
The Director of Animal and Plant Health and Welfare, Gareth Baynham-Hughes, has appointed seven new members of the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC), including a new Chair.

Professor Madeleine Campbell has been confirmed as the new Chair of the AWC. Professor Campbell will replace Peter Jinman who leaves the committee on the 31 December after ten years as Chair.

The other new appointments to the AWC are Dr Gareth Arnott, Ms Emily Craven, Professor Simon Girling, Dr Julian Kupfer, Stephen Lister and Julia Wrathall. The new appointees will replace current members Martin Barker, Dr Andy Butterworth, Richard Cooper, Dr David Grumett, Dr Maria Carmen Hubbard, Richard Jennison and Richard Kempsey who will complete their terms on the 31 December.

Each new member will be appointed from the 1 January 2023 until the 31 December 2026 for an initial term of four years.

The AWC advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Scottish and Welsh Governments on the welfare of animals. This includes farmed, companion and wild animals kept by people.

Biographical details

Professor Madeleine Campbell

Professor Madeleine Campbell has over 10 years of experience chairing animal welfare groups, including the British Veterinary Association (BVA)’s Ethics and Welfare Advisory Panel (EWAP).

She is Professor of Veterinary Ethics at Nottingham University and a Veterinary Specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law.

Dr Gareth Arnott

Gareth is a Senior Lecturer in Animal Welfare and Behaviour at Queen’s University Belfast.

Ms Emily Craven

Emily is a farm animal vet and the Ruminant Clinical Director of Oakwood Veterinary Group.

Professor Simon Girling

Simon is the Head of Veterinary Services for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Chair of the Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC).

Dr Julian Kupfer

Julian is an experienced veterinary medicines consultant and Chair of the Animal Welfare Foundation.

Stephen Lister

Stephen is an independent veterinary consultant.

Julia Wrathall

Julia is an independent animal welfare consultant for JW Premier Animal Welfare Consulting.
December 20, 2022
Abena Oppong-Asare – 2022 Speech on Alcohol Duty

The speech made by Abena Oppong-Asare, the Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead, in the House of Commons on 19 December 2022.

I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. The Government have confirmed that they are freezing alcohol duty rates for six months. I know that the sector will welcome the announcement, especially given the difficulties that businesses are facing, whether they are producers, suppliers or hospitality venues. I must say, however, that it is absolutely laughable that the Government have announced the change in the name of certainty. We should call it what it is: a U-turn. The previous Chancellor announced a freeze, the current Chancellor scrapped it, and now it is back on.

How did we get here? In October 2020 the Government announced a call for evidence to seek views on how the alcohol duty system could be reformed. At the time, they said that they would make the system

“simpler, more economically rational and less administratively burdensome on businesses and HMRC.”

What we have seen since then, however, is indecision, U-turns and delays.

The Government finally published a response to the alcohol duty consultation in September this year. Then in the shambolic mini-Budget that crashed the British economy, the then Chancellor announced a freeze on alcohol duty that was due to come into force in February 2023. The new Chancellor scrapped the planned freeze, however, in October’s autumn statement—just a couple of months ago. We now have a screeching U-turn; the freeze is back in place.

We see again that the Government have no long-term plan for the British economy. They cannot provide the certainty that businesses and their hard-working employees need to plan for the tough winter ahead. They have left businesses and consumers out in the cold. They may not want to hear it, but that is the reality. They are unsure what regulatory systems will be in place in as little as two months.

Today, Labour found that more than 70,000 venues have had to reduce their opening hours due to the price of energy bills, which means that almost a third of pubs, bars and hotels are missing out on customers at the busiest and most profitable time of the year. Those businesses and producers of wine, beer, cider and spirits enrich our communities and boost our high streets. I recently popped into the Standard, a pub in my Erith and Thamesmead constituency, which is really struggling with soaring energy bills and the lack of Government support. It needs the Government to be on its side. The Government promised to tell the House what the new energy bills support scheme would look like before Christmas, but we have yet to hear anything from them. Only Labour has set out a long-term plan to get our economy growing again.

Looking to the future, we agree with the principles behind the alcohol duty review and we want the alcohol duty system to be made simpler and more consistent. We recognise that there is a balance to be struck between supporting businesses and consumers and protecting public health, and maintaining a source of revenue for the Exchequer, but this statement leaves many questions unanswered.

Can the Minister give an indication of his plans for duty reforms in the coming spring? Can he confirm whether the alcohol duty reform package will be implemented in full? If so, what impact assessment has been carried out on the impact of the transition to the new duty regime? I hope that he can provide some clarity. The alcohol sector and the businesses and jobs that it supports have suffered enough uncertainty and U-turns. These are major changes that will affect businesses and consumers in all our constituencies, so I hope that they will be properly thought through and that we will not see last-minute policy announcements and changes, as we have today.

James Cartlidge

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. To be clear, this is good news for every single part of our alcohol industry and for those who drink in our pubs. Crucially, it gives certainty to the industry. The hospitality industry employed 2.1 million people at the latest reckoning, so it is a huge part of our economy and we want to do what we can to support it.

The hon. Lady mentioned a U-turn. To be clear, we said that we would introduce a radical reform of alcohol duty, and we will introduce that reform. It will come into effect next August. That reform could not have happened if we had not left the European Union. It will introduce, for the very first time, differential duty rates on tap and in the supermarkets. The public want that, because they value their pubs and understand the importance of pubs to their communities. [Interruption.] The hon. Lady intervenes, having sat down. She talked about her local pub. Obviously, we want to assist her local pub, and all pubs up and down the country; that is why we have put in place an energy bill relief scheme worth £18.1 billion, which is a huge intervention.

The energy bill relief scheme is very generous, but it is expensive, and we need to ensure longer-term affordability and value for money for the taxpayer. That is why we are carrying out a review of the scheme, with the aim of reducing the public finances’ exposure to volatile international energy prices from April 2023. We will announce the outcome of the review in the new year to ensure that businesses have sufficient certainty about future support before the scheme ends in March 2023. We should remember that this energy-related support comes on the back of the enormous support that we put in place during the pandemic. There were grants, bounce back loans, and of course furlough for all staff working in the hospitality sector.

We are proceeding with this ambitious reform package next year. We felt that it was appropriate to give the sector certainty as soon as possible that it would face only one uprating. That is the right thing to do, and it shows that the Government are supporting the hospitality industry.

December 20, 2022
James Cartlidge – 2022 Statement on Alcohol Duty

The statement made by James Cartlidge, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 19 December 2022.

With permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the alcohol tax system.

When in the autumn 2021 Budget the then Chancellor—now Prime Minister—announced the biggest reforms to alcohol duty in 140 years, he did so in order to change an outdated and impractical system. Following our country’s departure from the EU, our changes will overhaul the UK’s obsolete rules, which our membership of the EU precluded us from doing. With these new freedoms, we will embark on radically simplifying the entire system and slashing red tape.

The new alcohol tax system will adopt a common-sense approach whereby the higher a drink’s strength, the higher the duty, while new reliefs will be made available to help pubs and small producers to thrive. In doing so, we have made a system that fits with our national priorities, encourages growth and innovation, aligns with public health goals and is fairer for hard-working producers. The aim that lies at the root of this reform is to make the system fairer, simpler to use and more supportive of business.

Notwithstanding those ambitions, we fully understand that businesses face difficulty and uncertainty in the face of rising energy bills and inflation. I have listened to and value stakeholders from across the sector, and I understand that they want certainty and need reassurance in these challenging times. That is why today I can confirm that the freeze on alcohol duty rates has been extended by six months, to 1 August 2023.

Although new duty rates typically come in on 1 February each year, I can confirm that the Chancellor will instead make his decision on future duty rates at the spring Budget 2023, to give businesses certainty and time to prepare. To further support the industry, we are going further by confirming that if changes to duty are announced then, they will not take effect until 1 August 2023. This is to align with the date that historic reforms of the alcohol duty system come into force, and amounts to an effective six-month extension to the current duty freeze. Most importantly, to minimise the burden on business, it avoids the sector having to deal with multiple changes to duty rather than one.

As I mentioned a moment ago, the alcohol duty reforms will help create a simpler, fairer and healthier duty system. A higher rate for sparkling wines will come to an end, meaning that they will pay the same rate as still wine. Liqueurs will be put on the same footing as fortified wine, meaning that a sherry will now pay the same duty as a spirit liqueur, and the duty rate on super-strength white cider will increase in order to address public health concerns.

New draught relief will be worth £100 million a year, and to ensure that smaller craft producers can benefit, the threshold for qualifying containers will be 20 litres. The wine industry will also be supported as it adapts to the new system. Duty on all wine between 11.5% and 14.5% alcohol by volume will have its duty calculated as if it were 12.5% ABV. This will last for 18 months from the implementation of the new system.

Pubs, cider makers, brewers, distilleries and wine makers have an historic place at the heart of our communities. They provide not only thousands of jobs, but hubs that enrich and often define the social fabric of our villages, towns and cities. By saying to the industry that it will face just one single industry-wide change next summer, rather than two over the course of the year, we are giving it maximum certainty. Hospitality is a major part of our economy, and while these remain challenging times, we are doing everything we can to support individual hospitality businesses of every size so that they can have a prosperous new year. I commend this statement to the House.

December 20, 2022