Jonathan Neame welcomed a cut in beer taxes

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Budget cuts in beer taxes signalled a historic change of government attitude and could herald new jobs, according to a brewery boss.

Jonathan Neame, chief executive of Shepherd Neame, the 300-year old Faversham brewer and pub owner, confessed to being ecstatic after Chancellor George Osborne lopped a penny off the price of a pint and scrapped the escalator that would have hiked duty by 3p in September.

Speaking exclusively to KentOnline, Mr Neame said it was the first cut since the 1973 when Donny Osmond topped the charts and Last of the Summer Wine began its run on BBC1.

Pubs could create jobs quickly, with half its employees under 25. Although it was hard to quantify the difference the cuts would make, Mr Neame expected it to boost the industry and had "the potential to create more jobs in Kent and boost trade in pubs and restaurants. It's a clear statement that beer and pubs are an important part of the economy."

It would encourage pub landlords to invest more in their pub, giving work to local people and enhancing their already important community role.

In recent years, beer and pub trade have been hammered, with dozens of pubs shutting every month. Cheap supermarket competition switched a lot of consumption from pubs to home as beer sales in pubs were linked by the authorities to "binge drinking" and punished by tax hikes.

But the latest move, following years of fruitless industry lobbying, might help stem the decline.

"I can't welcome it enough," said Mr Neame. "I'm pinching myself to believe it. I'm just thrilled that the Government has recognised the importance of beer and pubs."

He added: "I'm ecstatic that the message this is sending out is for a safer drinking culture. Drinking beer in a controlled environment - a pub - is a good thing for society."

But he doubted the Chancellor had done it purely out of concern for the industry. The Treasury had missed its financial targets for beer duty by £150million, underlining the seriousness of pub closures and slowing on-trade beer sales.

While rates had gone up, revenue had dipped to less than two years ago. "The Treasury has a £150m hole in its budget because of the gap between its expectations and what it's actually raising from beer."

Mr Neame added: "As a producer of beer, it gives me a real sense of worth again in what we are doing, having been attacked and pushed from pillar to post in the last 10 years. It's really important that beer has been separated from other alcohol. It sends a very powerful message to all those hard-working licensees who have been through some very tough times and felt as though they were bottom of the heap."