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The mindful drinking movement and community group body was still proud to lobby for the initiative and welcomed a move to introduce a guest beer slot at pubs with tied tenants in the expectation a low & no beer could feature at sites across the UK.
Club Soda said the Autumn Budget did not go far enough to support the no, low and mid-strength sector and said: “At a time when hospitality has grouped together to call for lower costs to business, removing VAT from alcohol-free drinks could have been a good middle ground between meeting the industry’s asks as well as the Government’s public health goals.
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Low-cost policy
“This relatively low-cost policy could have supported the potential changes to drink-driving rules and public health objectives while supporting consumers to moderate their drinking by accessing more affordable alcohol-free drinks.”
It also said it was pleased to see the Small Producer Relief in the alcohol duty system being extended to support 2,000 small alcohol producers, which could mean small low and mid-strength alcohol producers will be shielded from rising beer duty costs.
Meanwhile, the higher duty relief for products below 3.5% ABV is “a welcome incentive to support brands to diversify into mid-strength beer which will, in turn, provide more choice for consumers wishing to decrease the number of alcohol units they are consuming”.
However, the group said it was concerned the increase in beer duty, paired with an increase in minimum wage, will put producers (outside of the relief scope) and hospitality businesses under mounting pressure as margins get squeezed.
Joined-up approach
Club Soda founder Laura Willoughby said: “This Budget offers welcome support for parts of the drinks sector and recognises the value of lower-strength production but it is disappointing the Government has missed the opportunity to remove VAT from alcohol-free drinks.
“Making alcohol-free choices more affordable would support so many of the Government’s own priorities: improving public health, reducing alcohol harm, changes to drink driving rules, backing innovative British businesses and helping hospitality thrive.
“We need a joined-up approach that makes choosing alcohol-free easier and gives producers and venues the confidence to invest. Sorting out the descriptors and removing VAT would be a clear, practical step towards that.”
