The chief executives of the campaign coalition calling for a cut in beer duty this year (CAMRA, SIBA, and the BBPA), have written jointly to Members of Parliament this week, urging them to support a new Parliamentary motion calling for a one penny cut in beer duty in the Budget on 16th March.

Early Day Motion 919 has been tabled by Nigel Evans MP, and already has the support of 24 MPs from five different parties in Parliament. Similar calls in previous years have been amongst the most heavily supported by MPs, hugely boosting the successful campaign for lower taxes on beer. The EDM highlights the 19,000 boost in employment generated by three, one penny duty cuts in the Chancellor’s last three Budgets, as well as £1 billion in investment.  Further cuts would secure jobs and lower the cost of living, the EDM says.

The BBPA, SIBA and CAMRA have also sent MPs a new edition of “The Beer Story – Facts on tap”, which highlights the key reasons why the industry needs further duty cuts in the Budget.

Brigid Simmonds, BBPA Chief Executive, comments: “Strong support from MPs always gives a real boost to our campaign – we have built a very strong case for further duty cuts to boost employment and protect pubs, as the industry still faces big pressures.  I hope MPs will support EDM 919 this year.”

Mike Benner, Managing Director of SIBA, said: “Three consecutive duty cuts have led to increased investment across the independent brewing sector creating new jobs and providing support for important local small businesses across the country. I hope the Chancellor will continue to drive this much needed momentum with a further duty cut in March.”

Tim Page, Chief Executive, CAMRA, comments: “The ending of the beer duty escalator and three consecutive beer duty cuts have kept pubs open and kept the price of a pub pint down. The Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) calculated that these changes have saved more than 1,000 pubs from closure benefiting pub goers and communities throughout the UK. Britain’s 15 million regular pub goers will be hoping for a fourth beer duty cut in March’s Budget.”

Text in letter to MPs:

We are delighted with the level of support MPs have shown our industry in recent years and we hope that will continue this year. The three cuts in beer duty over the past three years have proved a massive boost for brewing and pubs in the UK, resulting in more affordable beer and millions of pounds of investment in pubs.

However, there is still more that can be done. Beer tax in this country remains far higher than that in our European neighbours. In Germany, for example, the rate of tax on beer is some thirteen times lower than here in the UK. British beer drinkers pay almost 40% of all the beer tax in the EU despite only drinking 12% of the beer.

We enclose an information sheet on brewing and pubs in your constituency and a copy of our Facts on Tap document which provides an overview of the contribution brewing and pubs make to the UK economy. As a sector we support almost 900,000 jobs across the country – and 46% of those who work in pubs are 16-24 year olds – and contribute £22bn to UK GDP. We do hope you will be able to attend the event above and show your support for this great British industry.

We’d be grateful if you can also sign EDM 919 to show your support and look forward to seeing you on the 24th February.

Text of EDM 919, Nigel Evans MP:

“That this House welcomes the ending of the beer duty escalator and the impact of the unprecedented three successive beer duty cuts in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Budgets in supporting the growth of Britain’s breweries and underpinning confidence in the UK’s pubs; notes that this has led to an additional 19,000 vital jobs compared to the duty escalator and over £1 billion of investment in the sector expected in 2015-16; and urges the Government to sustain this momentum by considering a further cut in beer duty in the 2016 Budget which would secure pub jobs and help reduce the cost of living for hard-working people.”