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Finance Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes a telling intervention. Obviously, price is an important determinant of consumption patterns, but the one way in which the Government can increase price directly is through duty, and I shall suggest how we might be able to do that in due course. I wish to discuss the number of pubs and bars in England and the commercial pressures that are being put on them, which have been mentioned by a couple of hon. Members. There are some 57,000 pubs and bars in England and Wales, which, according to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, have a combined annual turnover of approximately £25 billion, which is equivalent to about 2 per cent. of our GDP. More than 500,000 people are directly employed in the industry—about a third as bar staff—which is more than are employed in construction, agriculture and mining put together. According to ALMR, a third of pub revenue goes to the Exchequer in alcohol and gaming duties. Additional revenues are generated through VAT, PAYE and other local and national taxes, so the typical pub contributes about £155,000 per annum to the Treasury. However, the number of pubs is falling. More than 4,000 have closed since 2004, pre-dating the start of Labour's recession. The trend is now accelerating, with more than 3,000 of those closures taking place in the past two calendar years. What was a closure rate of five a week between 2004 and 2007 has become 40 a week in 2008. What was the weekly closure rate just a couple of years ago has become the daily closure rate. It would be unfair to blame alcohol duties exclusively for that trend. Labour's Licensing Act 2003 must also bear part of the blame, as must the increased competition from supermarkets and the smoking ban.