MP warn on plight of pubs

Conservative MP Laurence Robertson was on Thursday set to warn the Commons about the threat to Britain's public houses.

In an adjournment debate, Robertson was expected to underline the importance of pubs to their local communities and will detail how they serve the needs of the community, particularly in rural areas.

He was also expected to highlight their importance as a "uniquely British institution", as well as their contribution to the economy.

And Robertson was set to cite the "significant amount" of tax raised by the government from the sale of alcohol, which in 2007/08 amounted to £14.79bn.

The debate also aimed to highlight the difficulties which pubs currently face, with 39 said to be closing each week nation-wide.

Issues including tax and duty rates, competition with supermarkets, the declining value of the pound and the smoking ban were set to be cited as factors behind the decline.

Robertson was also expected to warn that rate relief is inadequate as qualifying levels are too low.