Greg Speaks up for Pubs

East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg Knight has raised the need to support local pubs in Parliament.

During a debate on beer and pub taxation Sir Greg praised the role of local pubs, adding that the public house was the heart and soul of many villages especially in rural areas, like East Yorkshire.

Treasury Minister Simon Clarke agreed, saying “Pubs are places to meet and socialise, and breweries are important regional employers”.

He added that the Government have made employment allowance changes and reduced national insurance contributions by up to £3,000 for many pubs and that beer duty has been frozen or cut in six of the last seven Budgets.

Sir Greg agreed, adding: “Beer duty is now at its lowest level in real terms for over 30 years and I am pleased that the long-term trend in pubs going out of business is being addressed. However, people need to realise that many pubs are still only on the cusp of profitability and for rural pubs it really is a case of ‘use it or lose it’.”