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Finance Bill

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, which highlights how much duty has risen in the past 14 months and the appalling effect that that is having on our breweries and pubs across the country. Since 1997, under Labour, the following big breweries have closed down part of their operations in certain towns—Brakspear, Ruddles, Morrells, Whitbread and Young's. Other names have disappeared entirely from the scene. How will the industry survive the recession? I do not have statistics for previous recessions, but I recall reading or hearing that the pub trade suffered a great deal but was still more recession-proof than some sectors. That might well no longer be the case: an interesting survey by YouGov showed the entertainment that households expected to cut down on as the recession bit into their budgets. The least affected things were TV subscriptions, gym memberships and the hiring of DVDs, but two of the three biggest losers were going to pubs and eating out. The Oxford Economics study published in December 2008 examined the direct impact of the Budget and pre-Budget report measures on the pub sector in 2008-09. It also estimated the measures' impact over the next five years, with the escalator in place. The study said that the cumulative loss thanks to the duty escalator in sales and economic activity would amount to 16.7 million barrels of beer, or 4.8 billion pints. It also said that more than 59,000 jobs would be lost in the beer supply chain, and that overall tax revenue, including duty, VAT and employment taxes, would fall by some £79 million. Beer is part of Britain, and it is most popular among lower and middle income groups. Interestingly, people with manual or routine jobs drink less overall, but they drink 50 per cent. more beer than the managerial classes, and the figure is even higher for cider. The impact of the big duty rises has been felt in urban constituencies, but not as much as in the rural or suburban communities where pubs are more integral. That struck me most clearly a fortnight ago in the village of All Cannings outside Devizes. The King's Arms is the village's main amenity and it is in good health, but many other pubs are not. We need to be aware of that.