This afternoon, along with my Parliamentary Assistant Daisy Pierce and my Office Manager Tommy Gilchrist, I visited the Drop Project Brewery in the neighbouring constituency of Mitcham and Morden.
Although in Siobhain McDonagh's patch, one of the Directors is a constituent of mine and had invited me along to see their new equipment and the work they're doing to expand their business as we come out of lockdown.
It was great to hear how they managed not only to adapt to the previous restrictions, but survive and thrive - working with fellow brewers to share resources and technology.
I share their concerns around the impact of the proposed changes to Small Brewers Relief, and the challenges around decreasing the 50 per cent threshold to 2,100hl. SBR plays a vital role in helping small and independent brewers to compete against the bigger boys in the industry, and I have been working for many months to press for the proposals to be looked at again.
I will continue to work closely with Drop Project, along with Signal Brewery and Anspach & Hobday Brewery in my own constituency, to do what I can to support them, and will be keeping in touch.
(They also do great beer - find out more: https://www.drop-project.co.uk/home)
