Time to clean up your act
by Claire Hu
The trade has been warned it has two to three years to put its house in order and reduce binge drinking and disorder, or face Draconian laws, including a £10,000 policing levy on highstreet pubs and clubs.
Downing Street's long-awaited alcohol harm reduction strategy, launched this week, steers clear of legislation for now and instead focuses on voluntary schemes encouraging a more responsible attitude from pubs and suppliers.
The strategy document, however, still imposes stringent obligations on pub licensees to sign a "Code of Good Practice" (see left) that will mean they have to avoid promotions that encourage binge-drinking, ensure all staff are better trained and provide "reasonably priced" soft drinks and free water. Failure to do so "could be taken into account when there is a complaint against a pub and a licence removal is being considered".
The report warns that best practice in the pub industry exists in "isolated initiatives" rather than universal good practice. It also warns the industry it will be expected to make a "financial contribution to managing crime and disorder consequences of alcohol misuse where necessary".
This new coercive but voluntary approach avoids even more stringent measures favoured by Home Secretary David Blunkett. He believed voluntary measures had failed, and wanted an annual levy of an average of £10,000 (and up to £30,000 in some cases) on pubs and clubs to pay for up to 30,000 extra police officers, new powers to fix drinks prices in city centres and automatic refusal of new licence applications unless it could be proved they will not cause anti-social behaviour.
Although Blunkett failed to get the proposals included in the alcohol strategy, Westminster insiders believe he has been promised they will be revived after the next election if the voluntary approach fails.
The alcohol strategy takes a partnership approach to reducing the annual £20bn cost of binge drinking. Launching the document, Tony Blair said the priority for the drinks industry was to end irresponsible promotions and advertising, to ensure the safety of staff and customers and limit nuisance.
"Millions of us enjoy drinking alcohol with few, if any, ill effects. But, increasingly, alcohol misuse by a small minority is causing two major, and largely distinct, problems; on the one hand, crime and anti-social behaviour in town and city centres, and on the other, harm to health as a result of binge and chronic drinking," he said.
Home Office Minister Hazel Blears has warned progress will be assessed early in the next Parliament and if a voluntary approach is not working then legislation may be brought in.
It is clear, as revealed by the Morning Advertiser on 12 Feb-ruary, that there has been a fundamental disagreement be-tween Blunkett's Home Office and the Department of Culture, Media & Sport on the wayforward on binge-drinking.
Licensing Minister Richard Caborn has been fighting a fierce rearguard action to remind Gov-ernment that licensing reform itself will help remedy binge-drinking by creating a more relaxed approach at closing time.
Mark Jones, chief executive of Yates Group, said: "This shows a complete lack of joined-up thinking by the Government.
"This backlash against pubsis extremely serious and is permeating down into daily life and our dealings with police and magistrates. We are seeing more and more bizarre requests."
British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Rob Hayward said: "The alcohol strategy provides the industry with some very serious challenges."
Bar Entertainment & Dance Association chief executive Jon Collins said: "We have three years to demonstrate the best practice that is already going on or face more Blunkett-style sanctions."
l John Grogan p2
l David Elliott p6
l Leader column p12
