Local MEP Ashley Fox is welcoming the Chancellors decision to lobby for an EU rule change to help small cider and perry producers in Cornwall.

Small cider makers in Cornwall are a traditional part of the rural economy creating a diverse and vibrant cider market.

Earlier this year the EU Commission ordered the UK to end its tax exemption on producers making around 33 pints a day or less. Local cider producers enlisted the help of MEP Ashley Fox who has been lobbying for an EU rule change.

Now the Chancellor is on board. He is to discuss reforms to EU law with the EU Commission and other Member States, so that it explicitly allows Member States to support small cider makers.

Ashley said, "This is great news and no doubt the cider producers will be raising a glass to the Chancellor tonight. He has gone even further by not only seeking EU reform but promising the current duty exemption will stay in place until and unless a replacement scheme is established."

"I will continue to lobby Treasury Ministers and remind them how important this reform is. We must be able to use the tax system to recognise and help small cider producers in the same way we help small vineyards and micro-breweries.”