Government’s “Alarming” Industrial Strategy Neglects Brewers And Pubs
The Government’s Industrial Strategy has overlooked brewers and pubs and risks undermining economic growth, the British Beer and Pub Association has warned.
Neglecting the sector risks endangering the economy, job market and Government's growth mission, the leading trade association has said in its consultation response.
The Strategy’s consultation, which closed on Sunday, 24 November, currently fails to include industries like brewing and pubs despite their significant economic and cultural contributions.
The oversight is alarming, according to the BBPA, which has called on the Government to recognise the sectors as vital cogs in the machinery that drives the UK economy forward.
Regulatory burdens, high tax rates, access to skills and employment, and the high cost of doing business which includes soaring energy costs, are all barriers the sector currently faces and which must be addressed.
Andy Tighe, the British Beer and Pub Assocation’s director of strategy and policy, said:
“The Industrial Strategy is a real opportunity for Government to enable brewers and pubs to help build a brighter, more prosperous UK.
“However, it is alarming that the sector is currently overlooked in the strategy. Brewers and pubs pour billions into the economy, support more than 1 million jobs from farmers to publicans, and are at the heart of local economies and communities throughout the UK.
“We stand ready to help Government swiftly deliver the change that is needed to break down the barriers that stop our sector from contributing even more to the economy and employing more people than ever before.”
The BBPA highlighted that neglecting the sector could not only lead to financial and employment ramifications, but heritage ones too, as it is intrinsically linked to the UK’s cultural and social fabric.
Britain’s brewing industry is world-renowned and is a hugely innovative and diverse market, the BBPA says. Small independents, long-established family businesses, and the world’s largest brewing companies are all part of the UK’s manufacturing sector and must be able to continue operating and investing here.
Pubs play a foundational role in creating communities where people want to live and work, which is a core component of the Industrial Strategy’s focus on distributing economic activity across the UK, the BBPA said.
The response came after the BBPA announced that pubs employ more young people than ever before, however, the Budget means the sector may have to make difficult decisions to save jobs.
More than half (51%) of the overall pub sector’s workforce were aged 16 to 24, figures from 2024 Oxford Economics research, commissioned by the BBPA reveal. That equates to pubs employing 1 in 10 of all under 25-year-olds in the UK job market.
The data, commissioned by the BBPA, shows that pubs employ 350,000 under 25-year-olds, up from 281,770 in 2019 - a dramatic increase of nearly a quar…
