Commenting on the British Beer and Pub Association’s request that the House of Commons Treasury Committee and Business Committee conduct an urgent inquiry into the energy sector and its treatment of pubs and breweries, CAMRA Chair Nik Antona said:
“Huge increases in prices, fees and charges for pubs and breweries have effectively cancelled out the Government’s help with bills for many businesses, putting the future of many of our much-loved locals at risk as they struggle to make ends meet.
“Parliament and Government should urgently investigate any unfair treatment of businesses in the beer and pub sector by energy companies and take action to make sure that licensees and brewers know how much their energy bills are going to be each month. Those bills must be fair and without unreasonable extra fees, charges or up-front deposits added on.
“Given that many businesses haven’t had the reduced energy costs they were expecting as a result of this behaviour by energy companies, CAMRA is urging the Chancellor to use his Budget in March to announce more support with energy bills to help save the UK’s world-renowned pubs and breweries. The Chancellor also needs to cut duty on beer and cider served in pubs by 20% and make the business rates system fairer if our locals are to survive this cost-of-doing-business crisis.”
