ALMR slams Act as incompetent

by Tony Halstead

The Government has been accused of selling the pub industry short by failing to deliver on major trade issues.

Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers chairman Alex Salussolia accused Whitehall of incomplete and incompetent regulation on licensing reform, door control and alcohol misuse.

Salussolia's criticism came as he addressed ALMR members at its annual meeting in London's Porter Tun Rooms.

He claimed a "golden thread of professionalism and skill" that operators had brought to the industry was being stretched to breaking point because the trade had been engulfed by the distraction, effort and expense of unsatisfactory regulation.

"It has been made worse by the veneer of respectability that is called consultation but which is actually a cloak for delay and confusion," Salussolia told members.

The trade association chief highlighted the new Security Industry Association (SIA) arrangements for doorstaff as one of the worst examples of Government shortcomings, describing them as a "shambles".

Complicated application procedures and security checks meant that many doorstaff had simply not bothered to register, while others had experienced serious delays to their applications.

Yet the SIA insisted that there could be no excuse for unlicensed door staff. There was now the threat of closures and huge risks to street disorder as staff disappeared to a higher payer down the road or in the next town.

"This is colossal incompetence, but I fear only a dress rehearsal for the major crisis looming when local authorities get around to dealing with the flood of licence applications that have been delayed through a mixture of uncertainty and confusion," he said.

Salussolia said he was sure the industry would emerge safely, at some stage, from the storm that now engulfed it, but the trade had to do more than pay lip service to the idea of social responsibility.

"Under no circumstances should we be apologetic. We can deliver the balance between booze and binge," he added.

ALMR chief executive Nick Bish said the association had grown in strength over the year thanks to the addition of 15 new pub operators to its ranks.

He predicted the next 12 months would be even more interesting than the past eventful year.

"By 6 May we will have a new Government ­ not necessarily a different one ­ but we will continue to impress on it the importance and the contribution of the licensed retail trade and its professionalism and responsible approach," he promised.