Blears pledges no Ofbooze'

Home Office minister Hazel Blears has told the Morning Advertiser that plans for a new regulatory body to monitor social responsibility in the trade ­ dubbed Ofbooze ­ have been shelved.

The Home Office "code of practice" plan, leaked to theMA in December, sparked fury among trade leaders, with the major talking point being a proposal for the industry to fund an independent body to accredit pubs that comply with a list of social responsibility measures.

But Blears has written to the MA to insist "no decisions have been made" on the code of practice and accreditation scheme.

"Discussions are at an early stage and the main trade associations are heavily involved," she said. "We do not want to reinvent the wheel; if there is an accreditation scheme which is working and meets our needs then we will not create a new one for the sake of it."

She added: "We certainly have no intention of setting up a new regulatory body ­ there will be no Ofbooze."

Blears promised that no decisions would be made without "first fully consulting the industry" but that a code of practice was required.

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) remained fearful of any accreditation system. "It is clear that an accreditation scheme remains very much under consideration and this may be controversial if it is tied to trade association membership or benefits," said head of communications Kate Nicholls. "An accreditation system is not the panacea to all ills ­ in fact, it is unlikely to have an impact on the core of truly irresponsible retailers who seldom belong to any formal body."

Mark Hastings, British Beer& Pub Association director of communications, added: "We are very pleased to see Hazel Blears is willing and prepared to work and talk with the industry over such matters."

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