In this year's annual budget, the chancellor has announced his decision to cut price of beer and froze duties on Scotch whisky and cider.

The beverage industry has welcomed the move from the government. Chancellor George Osborne said that it has cut the price of a beer pint by a penny for the second year and also froze duties on cider, a move that will boost flood-hit West Country. The duty freeze on scotch took a political turn as the Chancellor said that it a "British success story".

The Chancellor also scrapped the above-inflation escalator for alcohol, under which alcohol duty rose by two percentage points above the retail price index making it more expensive each year. The duty escalator on tobacco will remain in place and the prices will rise 2 per cent above inflation, resulting in an increase of 28p to a packet of 20 cigarettes. The chancellor also said that the duty escalator will be extended from next year.

David Frost, the chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association and Paul Bartlett, chairman of the National Association of Cider Makers both welcomes the news.