Finance Bill

It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne). I, too, will be celebrating Proud of Pubs week on the same evening, but almost certainly in a different establishment. I enjoyed sparring with the hon. Gentleman in Committee on this and many other duties. I agreed with a great deal of what he had to say; I just thought it a pity that he did not properly explain the amendment before us, because it has a number of problems that need probing. Nevertheless, we seem to be making a habit of debating alcohol duty only very late at night or at the end of the day. [Hon. Members: "Last orders!"] Last orders indeed, although not quite, under the old world. During Committee of the whole House on 12 May, I spoke on alcohol duties for an hour and a quarter either side of midnight—well after what I used to think of as closing time. I shall not repeat my arguments and certainly will not go on for as long, but we had an entertaining debate about the serious subject of alcohol duties, and various Members joined the debate late, including the hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell (Colin Challen), who intervened on a Liberal Democrat Member at 2 minutes past 1 in the morning to say that""the increase in duty on beer imposed in the Budget is 1p. In my local, which I attend regularly—I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman attends his—the price of a pint has gone up by 10p."" He went on to ask at 6 minutes past 1 in the morning:""How does the price of whisky, with which I must admit I have a certain affinity, compare with the RPI?"—[Official Report, 12 May 2009; Vol. 492, c. 822-823.]" We had various other contributions from a collection of Members from all-party groups, some of whom appeared to have come straight out of intense discussions on the various duties involved. I do not know whether we can expect such interventions this evening, but alcohol duties are a serious matter, affecting not only a huge number of consumers but a large number of employers and employees. There are also issues about problem drinking and alcohol-induced crime. The hon. Member for Taunton pointed out that the sector is under pressure, and on that point I very much agree. Part of that tale of woe is due to the big increases in beer duty, so let us examine what the Government have done since they introduced their duty escalator at the previous Budget. They put duty up across the board by 6 per cent.; then it went up again by a further 8 per cent. when VAT fell in the pre-Budget report; and we now have a 2 per cent. across-the-board increase in this year's Budget.