The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has urged government to increase the draught discount to 30 per cent and freeze beer duty in the upcoming Budget.

The trade body is calling on the chancellor to support jobs, the price of a pint and the industry through meaningful action.

According to the BBPA, duty accounts for up to 40 per cent of the wholesale price of beer with British brewers paying some of the highest rates in Europe – 12 times that of Germany or Spain.

Duty and other cost pressures, including staffing and business rates, mean British pubs make just 12p per pint and brewers 3p on a 500ml bottle giving businesses no other choice than to pass costs on to consumers.

The trade body said, with inflation still on the up, increasing the draught discount and freezing duty would give both pubs and brewers the space to invest, protect consumers from increased prices and hire more people.

Analysis from the BBPA found these measures would allow pubs and brewers to employ 7,100 more workers, with 3,400 of them under 25.

Of the 7,100 jobs, the regions that would benefit the most from these measures are the South East (1,066 posts), South West (900), North West (789), London (760) and the East of England (675).

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin (pictured) said: “At a time when young people are finding it really tough to find work, supporting the beer and pub sector would mean government is helping us create much-needed jobs.

“Increasing the draught discount and freezing beer duty at its current rate would be an undisputed win-win, meaning more affordable pints, greater investment and more jobs.”

In February, the government increased beer duty by 3.6 per cent. While the Treasury described this as being in line with inflation, the BBPA calculated a £129m additional bill for Britain’s brewers every year.

The trade body also revealed every one per cent increase to duty removes £35m of potential investment from brewers.