§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate of the price elasticity of demand for(a) beer, (b) wine and (c) spirits are currently used to estimate the impact of changes in excise duties on Government revenue; over what period these price elasticities are based; and when they are next to be updated. [38971]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe revenue implications are estimated using a computer model produced by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, with values for independent variables updated annually. The model has a wide range of both own and cross price elasticities for various categories of consumption with own price elasticities of -0.963, -1.048 and -1.07 for beer, wine and spirits respectively.