THE pub industry in Oxford, worth tens of millions of pounds, could take a hit if beer duty is raised as expected next week, Britain’s Beer Alliance has warned.

Tax on beer is expected to rise by 3.4 per cent in the Chancellor's Autumn Budget, delivered on Tuesday. With consumers increasingly opting for cheaper supermarket drinks and pub margins stretched, local establishments are braced for further struggles.

Oxford’s 111 pubs and bars employ 2,464 people directly, paying them £19 million in wages, new analysis from Oxford Economics shows.

They also support another 399 jobs and £9.1 million in wages indirectly, either through related jobs, like those in the supply chain, or through the money spent by people working in the pub industry.

In total, through salaries and spending power, the area’s pubs contribute £56 million to the local and national economy, the analysis shows.

David Cunningham, programme director of Britain’s Beer Alliance, said: “Pubs are the heart and soul of our culture and communities, they support many jobs, contribute significantly to the economy and are dear to people’s hearts right across the country.

“Pubs already face a range of tax pressures and if the Chancellor raises beer duty in line with Retail Price Index inflation pubs will feel the pinch even more. Seven in every 10 alcoholic drinks sold in a pub is beer, so it's easy to see how a small tax increase adds up over a year.

"Based on current closure rates, we estimate that within five years more than one in 10 pubs in the UK will have closed for good, costing thousands of jobs. This will have a devastating effect on communities up and down the UK."

Altogether, the local pub, brewery and beer trade in Oxford adds £62 million to the economy, the Oxford Economics report says.