THE Government has been urged to give a date for when pubs can reopen by pub sector leaders.

Pubs have been forced to throw away up to 87 million pints of beer in the UK since the start of the pandemic, an industry body has claimed.

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said the waste was the equivalent of £331 million in sales, based on the average cost of a pint at £3.81.

Dave Stubbins, branch chairman at Furness Campaign for Real Ale, said: “Obviously there is a production cycle in creating beer.

“Pubs need an opening date to know when they can start ordering beer, and breweries need to know when pubs are going to start ordering beer before they make any.

“The health of the nation is crucial and the Government have a big job on their hands at the moment.

“If the NHS intensive care wards are still full in a few months time, we are not going to be relaxing anything.

“We don’t want them to release all this information then all of a sudden we are in a major crisis again.

“They need to put the steps in place to make sure we have a thriving pub industry in place when we return.

“If they cannot open, make sure they are still around with proper support.”

The government insists that it has a plan for re-opening the economy which it will reveal after 22 February.

Emma McClarkin, the BBPA’s chief executive, warned there would be a "wave of closures" and job losses in the sector unless the Government provides further financial support.

She has called for an extension to the VAT cut for the hospitality sector and a reduction to the UK's "excessive" beer duty - the tax on selling and producing beer.

Ms McClarkin said: "Our sector is in limbo. And at several points in the last 12 months, pubs and breweries have effectively had to pour their revenues down the drain.

"We have no idea or clarity from Government on when we can reopen again."

If pubs are told to stay closed beyond March, Ms McClarkin said further Government grants would be needed to support them.

"Without this, neither pubs or brewers will be around to brew and serve beer when we can reopen", she said.