Momentum is building around my campaign to lower duties for small British vineyards, including those in Ryedale, to help them start-up and grow.
Meetings I've held by together with Treasury officials, Members of Parliament and Directors of WineGB have succeeded in demonstrating the thirst to push for reforms in the sector and a common ask for tax breaks for small producers.
There are now over 500 vineyards in the UK, more than 150 of which are open to the public. As we leave the EU and seek to bolster our sales abroad around the world, any assistance the Government could provide to this industry would be a great boon. I will continue my campaign so that British vineyards and wine-makers are given the opportunities and space to set-up and grow.
One recent meeting saw me discuss proposals for a British Small Vineyard Relief with the-then Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke MP, along with parliamentary colleagues including James Cartlidge MP (South Suffolk), Andrew Jones MP (Harrogate and Knaresborough) and Robin Millar (Aberconwy). We are part of a group numbering over forty who have small and well-established vineyards in their constituencies and who are willing to push for reforms to give a boost to the domestic wine-making sector.
This boost for vintners and vignerons would in turn help the 33 million people in the UK who drink our most popular drink. The UK is the centre of the world wine trade as we import £3.5 billion of bottles, however, British consumers must pay a duty as high as £2.23 per bottle of still wine and £2.86 for bottles of sparkling wine.
The UK’s vineyards are a great success story and there is still room for them to grow. Since the Autumn, I have led the charge in asking for a better deal for our British vineyards and have submitted a formal application for a British Small Vineyard Relief to be included in the upcoming Budget. I realise that there are a host of measures that the Government could introduce to benefit this burgeoning industry and I was keen to listen to the Exchequer Secretary’s suggestions. I am eager to continue working with HM Treasury and other Government departments, such as Defra, to lower the cost of producing and selling wine made from English and Welsh vines.
In a subsequent meeting with Arundel and South Downs MP, Andrew Griffith, as well as WineGB Chairman, Simon Robinson, and their directors, David Parkinson and Dominic Buckwell, discussions were centred around the need to come to a consensus within the industry. WineGB are developing a policy paper focused on a cellar door scheme to encourage wine tourism as well as a route analogous to the small breweries relief, which has resulted in a small brewers’ revolution in the UK.
The conversation also highlighted the importance of rebooting research and development within the industry to help innovate the UK’s fifth most valuable food export category plus wider issues which affect the UK’s agricultural industries such as the considerations for seasonal labour.
With the new Exchequer Secretary, Kemi Badenoch MP, now in post, I shall be meeting her and other ministers to press the case for small producers in the English wine market. The group also plans to work with Environment Ministers to see if diversification rules might allow for support and relief through its new Environment Land Management Schemes.
