The UK's alcohol duty reforms have encouraged producers to make lower-strength drinks, but there is not yet clear evidence of reduced alcohol-related health or crime harms, a government evaluation has found.
Published by HM Treasury and HMRC on 28 October 2026, the report assesses changes introduced in August 2023, including taxation based more closely on alcoholic strength and new reliefs for draught products and small producers.
It finds evidence of reformulation and increased availability of drinks between 1.3% and 3.4% ABV, particularly beer. The average strength of beer released onto the UK market fell from 4.59% in September 2024 to 4.34% in March 2026.
Draught Relief averaged around £19 million a month after its expansion in February 2025. However, the evaluation found no evidence yet that it had delivered lower relative on-trade prices, increased consumption in pubs and similar venues, or growth in pub numbers.
Small producers received more than £200 million in relief between August 2023 and March 2026. Most of the relief went to small brewers. The report says it supported business resilience, while evidence of substantial growth remains limited.
Producers generally described HMRC's digital returns and payments service, launched in February 2025, as straightforward and preferable to paper and email. However, experiences of the wider duty system varied: some cider, wine, spirits and other fermented product producers reported greater complexity when calculating duty across products and strengths.
The report cautions that wider moderation trends and economic pressures make the reforms' effects difficult to isolate.
