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Pre-Budget Report

I will say to the hon. Lady that Europe is very important. I think it right for me to say a word about spirits. I refer to the spirits that we drink, rather than the ones that we might imagine. I said on Monday that I wanted to ensure that the level of taxation on alcohol and cigarettes remained the same, so that broadly speaking the reduction in VAT would be cancelled out by a change in duty. I think that, in relation to spirits, what we announced on Monday did not achieve that, so I am tabling a further order today to ensure that the duty on spirits is charged at a slightly lower rate. I think that that will hugely benefit the spirits industry wherever it is.