Pubs and operators step up responsible trading initiatives

Pubs and pub operators are continuing to underline their responsible trading style by joining up with new responsible retailing initiatives.

Crime prevention organisation Action Against Business Crime (AABC) is piloting what is intended to become a nationwide responsible drinking scheme in Kent.

AABC's Safer Socialising Award has already rewarded three venues in Folkestone for working to reduce violence and anti-social behaviour.

The town's Club Indigo, the Leas Club and the Earl Grey pub have all been accredited by a group made up of representatives of the local retail community, Kent Police, Kent Fire & Rescue and Shepway Council.

Under the scheme premises are inspected to ensure that their policies on serving people who are drunk, underage drinking, and other issues are up-to-scratch.

"The criteria are split into 'must haves', 'should haves' and 'could haves', in terms of what the premises must have to fulfil the categories," said a spokesman for the scheme.

"We apply a sliding scale, so a small pub that doesn't have much money will not have the same exacting standards applied to it as a big club.

"The Earl Grey has demonstrated that it fulfils the requirements and has specific measures and protocols in place. For example, they have recorded, regular fire drills and toilet checks for drugs."

In a separate development standards in student union bars are being brought in line with pubs under the "Best Bar None" scheme.

Almost half of the UK's trading student's unions have applied for the scheme, an extension of the Best Bar None concept initiated by Greater Manchester Police in 2004 and recently relaunched in the city.

This campaign to encourage responsible drinking through a system of self-regulation has since spread nationwide - and it now counts Liverpool among its participants after it was launched recently in the city's Walkabout.