Comment: Proud of beer
At this time of year people's minds turn towards the Budget. Brewers live in hope of a fair deal for beer, but fear continuation of existing government policy. And this time it really matters.
Brewers do not normally elicit much sympathy but an increase in excise duty affects everyone in the sector and it is important that all enter into this debate. Beer is the lifeblood of pubs and in the last 10 years it has seen steeper rises in duty than any other alcohol product. It is the most expensive form of alcoholic drink to produce - and the least profitable.
Opponents see in alcohol the same argument as that for controlling tobacco and the same means of doing it, namely a step change in the increase in taxation.
Those among them in the medical profession are experts in alcohol-related health conditions and they have our greatest sympathy for what they have to face in Accident & Emergency departments, but they are not experts on the market forces that drive alcohol consumption, nor the impulses that drive consumer behaviour. We are.
Excise duty is a blunt instrument that creates distortions in the market; distortions in where you purchase alcohol and distortions in the type of alcohol you purchase.
In the last 10 years, beer volumes in this country have declined by 11 per cent and taxation has increased by 27 per cent. All other alcohol categories have seen substantial growth and much lower levels of tax increase.
In my view it is in the social, cultural and economic interests of this country that alcohol policy should promote the moderate consumption of lower-alcohol beverages in a controlled environment, in other words: beer in pubs.
Let me explain:
Social: People, generally speaking, go to pubs and clubs to socialise, not to get drunk. Pubs are community centres. Most are run by husband and wife teams who know the families within their community.
They play a vital role in controlling behaviour within that community. They want to serve loyal and regular customers, not 'bar drunks'. Indeed, recent research has confirmed what many of us have known for some time: teenagers buy their alcohol from supermarkets or off-licences and the majority of young people 'pre-fuel' at home, not in the pubs. The pub is a controlled environment and is the hub of the community.
Cultural: The diversity, individuality and heritage of our pub stock should be a source of celebration, not condemnation. Pubs are at the forefront of the revolution in developing local sourcing and revolutionising our food habits as well as being key to the government's desire to establish sustainable rural communities.
Economic: Beer is the staple drink in pubs and almost all beer consumed in this country is produced and distributed using UK labour and UK raw materials.
There are 600,000 people employed in the beer and pubs industry, generating £40bn of economic activity, more than twice that of clothing retailers or the airline industry and four times that of electrical goods retailers.
Every pint sold in this country generates excise duty. But every pint of beer purchased in the pub as opposed to the supermarket generates a staggering 62p extra for the government in VAT and employment taxes.
And every penny of excise chips away at the British beer and pub edifice, forcing production to the margin, forcing pubs to put their prices up, shifting consumption into the off-trade and into other products.
This cannot go on. We must turn the tide. If we get the same type of Budget as we have had in recent years then we will have failed in our lobbying and we will redouble our efforts for the future. But the government will have also failed in its duty: to listen, to engage, to understand, and to take the right decision.
I commend The Publican's Proud of Pubs initiative. May I suggest that it is now time to become Proud of Beer in Pubs?
Jonathan Neame is chief executive of Kent brewer Shepherd Neame
