Rewarding best practice

With the pub trade under frequent attack for many social ills, the MA's award scheme promoting responsible alcohol retailing has never been more important. Noli Dinkovski reports

The Morning Advertiser, in conjunction with sister title Off Licence News, is proud to announce the return of its Responsible Drinks Retailing

(RDR) Awards.

Now in its fourth year, the RDR Awards aim to reward businesses and organisations that do their best to sell alcohol responsibly. As in previous years, we have divided the trade up into several categories designed to recognise as many initiatives as possible, from practical steps taken by individual licensees to stamp out trouble, to ground-breaking partnerships between local authorities and the police.

The winners of the 2007 awards will be judged by an expert panel, who will be looking for examples of best practice and a consistent approach to promoting the responsible sale of alcohol.

The finalists will be invited to a special awards lunch in London on 22 November, where the overall winners will be announced. Here, some of last year's winners explain how the initiative has helped them progress.

Rowena Smith, managing partner of the Old China Hand in Clerkenwell, London

"People who see the best independent operator award behind the bar often ask how it was won, and when we tell them, they are generally very impressed that we've done so much to try to combat the binge-drinking problem.

"This award is more of a talking point than just winning any pub of the year award, which I believe is a far more subjective thing. For the RDR award, you really have to demonstrate that you've gone out of your way to actually do something.

"We made a decision a while back not to sell cheap beers or double shots in order to get rid of the underage drinkers and drunks, but in general, we don't really attract younger people - it's not that type of bar. I think many of them have realised just how strict we are, and now word has got around to that effect."

The RDR Awards explained

Why enter?

As demonstrated by our previous winners, the awards can provide a platform for you to promote your business or organisation, reward your team and highlight your achievements. It will give recognition that you are ensuring establishments are trading within the law and helping to protect the health and safety of the local community.

Award categories

l Pub Company and Managed Pubs: for the pub company/managed pub that has done the most to help its licensees/outlet managers deal with the challenges of drinks retailing.

l Tenant/Licensee: for licensees who have gone beyond the call of duty in ensuring they and their staff retail alcohol responsibly.

l Local Authority of the Year: for measures taken with the pub and off-licensed trade in

tackling the problem of anti-social behaviour.

l Pubwatch of the Year: to recognise the Pubwatch scheme that has been the most effective in promoting social responsibility through the implementation of local initiatives.

l RDR Police Champions of the Year: for the police authority that does the most to support and encourage retailers to promote RDR standards on their premises.

l Best Initiative: this category applies to groups not included in the above, such as Town

Centre Management, the NHS and the Education Trust.

How to enter

Entrants are required to write no more than 1,000 words giving appropriate consideration to the criteria for each category. A maximum of 10 supporting items of documentation are

allowed, including leaflets, photographs and press clippings.

Full details and an entry form can be obtained from Jessica Canfor on 01293 867644, or email her at jessica.canfor@william-reed.co.uk. Alternatively, visit www.responsibledrinksretailing.co.uk where you can also find more information on the scheme and download an entry form.

Please return your form no later than 14 September 2007. The awards lunch will be held at the Landmark Hotel in London on 22 November 2007.

Chris Ingram, licensing police officer for Poole Safe, DORSET

"Our initiative involves a lot of different agencies coming together. Essentially, it is a combination of the police and the local council, but the key partners are the licensees, and the focus of our work is to tell them that they are doing an awesome job, and that we'll continue to look at ways of working with them. They're in the front line in the war on binge drinking, and we are here to provide support.

"The award really was a vindication of our approach. It recognises the hard work of licensees and the cooperation that exists between different agencies.

"We have obtained funding to run subsidised BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) courses, and we make sure that licensees from different types of venues have access to them. We look to provide input on local issues as well, so members are getting a combined benefit - national qualification and training, but also local knowledge with the support of the police. I think other agencies would do well to copy this."

Simon Jones, licensing inspector at Worthing Borough Council

"The publicity of winning the award has been good for the reputation of our town centre. It's been great to report to local residents and the industry around us that our pubs and clubs are acting responsibly. Our crime figures are down and all this hard work has been recognised centrally with a great initiative.

"We are constantly looking at ways to improve the town centre and how we operate in the late-night economy. It's a case of continual partnership, working with the police and alongside local Pubwatch and Clubwatch schemes.

"We've got various projects on the go that are continually being updated and renewed, such as the taxi-marshal scheme. We are also looking to implement a taxi-safe scheme where people can get a pre-paid cab home, even if they've run out of money."

Sarah Owen, licensing enforcement officer at Watford Borough Council

"Winning an RDR award was a great achievement for us; it has helped us to focus the services that we provide to the public and has given us a platform to improve on them.

"Not only has it boosted the morale of the team, but it has also attracted other agencies to work on initiatives with us and has strengthened our partnership work. We have received recognition and confidence from the public, and have been more able to promote awareness of responsible drinking to them.

"Since winning the award we have introduced further projects, which include successfully launching a three-strikes policy and a Best Bar None scheme. We have set up a further Pubwatch scheme and are in the process of setting up an Offwatch scheme, with a view to conducting regular training seminars for off-licences."