LETTERs

Between a rock and a hard place

I agree entirely with John Morrey's letter in 22 February issue of the Morning Advertiser which argued that, while the rate of pub closures can be blamed on the activities

of supermarkets and

off-licences, one of the

most important factors is the less than supportive behaviour of pubcos towards their own tenants.

I am a tenant and fully tied - my brewery charges me rent, half my bandit money and top prices on their products.

With the smoking ban due to come into force here in Wales on 2 April, what did my brewery do when S&N put their prices up? Ride the storm themselves to help us poor tenants? No - they passed them on to us.

My customers would love Sky, but a little pub like ours couldn't afford to supply it. Repairs? Forget about them. If they bother you enough, do them yourself.

Mine is a landlocked pub and my only hope was for the brewery to buy next door to give me a no-smoking patio. Did they buy? No! My village does not warrant the extra money to save the pub.

This is despite the fact that, in a Welsh village with two pubs, ours is the more profitable - so why not dig deep to save it?

The brewery is totally out for what it can get and if the tenant loses out, hard luck. At the end of the day, with steady rent coming in and huge profits on all their tied products, it certainly isn't the brewery losing out.

I can buy my brewery's own brands from an independent wholesaler at £50 per 11 cheaper. How is that possible?

D Dobson

Royal Oak Hotel, Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd

Obtaining money for nothing

I was concerned to see your story about the winding up of the Licensed Trade Compensation Fund Trust (Morning Advertiser, 8 February) because I feel that the distribution of the money is completely unfair.

The Compensation Fund was set up by the then Government in 1904 and financed by a levy imposed on every public house.

When the Errol Report into the trade was published, it recommended that the surplus monies in what was now an almost defunct fund, should be given to the Trade Charities.

The Association of Licensed Trade Executives, which at that time was comprised of the senior executives of the Licensed Victuallers' School, Licensed Victuallers' National Homes, Licensed Trade Convalescent Home, National Union of Licensed Victuallers, National Association of Licensed House Managers and the editor of the Morning Advertiser, decided to launch a campaign to obtain the money.

Despite all governments opposing the release of any money, the campaign was eventually successful and nearly £1m was put into a fund, which everyone agreed should be a trust.

The brewers insisted that, although the three trade charities should be potential beneficiaries, two other charities should be included, namely the then Hotel & Catering Benevolent Society, and the Wine & Spirit Trades' Benevolent Society.

Both myself and Chris Kimber of the Licensed Victuallers' School, who had been at the forefront of the campaign, resented the inclusion of the latter two charities because their sections of the trade had not been contributors to the original fund. Eventually, however, we reluctantly agreed because it was holding back the release of funds to the charities.

Now it seems that, although the three on-trade charities are all combined, the other two are going to receive a third of the disbursements, despite never having contributed to or even participated in the original campaign that led to the creation of the trust.

George Ives

Formerly Director General of

the Licensed Victuallers' National Homes,

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Searching for the low-alcohol Grail

In view of various "responsible drinking" and "drink-driving" campaigns, I find it odd that Whitbread White Label (a low-alcohol beer) has been delisted.

As far as I can find out, there is nothing similar on the market for the bitter drinker - there is only

low-alcohol lager.

Do any readers have ideas on a replacement product for people who wish to drink something that tastes like beer without the alcohol content?

David G Wales

The Dog & Truck

via email from waledogandtruck@aol.com

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