Alcohol duty frozen until next August

Alcohol duty has been frozen until 1 August 2024, the chancellor has announced.

Delivering his Autumn Statement in the Commons, Jeremy Hunt said that meant there would be no increase in duty on beer, cider, wine or spirits.

Citing cost-of-living pressures, he said he recognised that "for many people going to the pub has become more expensive".

But tobacco duty is rising, by 2% above the Retail Prices Index inflation rate.

Meanwhile, the duty on hand-rolling tobacco will rise by an additional 10%, to 12% above RPI inflation. These changes will take effect from 18:00 GMT.

Mr Hunt said the government remained committed to its "Brexit Pubs Guarantee", saying that it meant that "duty on a pint is always lower than in the shops".

Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) chief executive Miles Beale welcomed the freeze in alcohol duty, saying it came as "a huge relief" to a sector that had "taken a battering" in recent years.

He said a new duty regime, introduced by the government in August this year, had resulted in the largest rise in alcohol tax for almost 50 years, and the latest sales figures showed a "worrying decline".

Wine and spirits had seen a near triple digit increase in inflation in the last three months, the WSTA added, pointing to a rise in supply chain costs and glass recycling fees.

"We are pleased that the frustrations of consumers, who are fed up with never ending price rises, and of businesses struggling with the cost and complexities of the new system have been heeded," Mr Beale said.

UK Spirits Alliance spokesman and distiller Stephen Russell said: "We raise a toast to the Chancellor for his decision to freeze duty and thank him for listening to thousands of distillers, landlords and bar owners up and down the UK.

"He has raised the spirits of the sector, and his decision is a vote of confidence in this vibrant homegrown sector."