MyShout

As Gordon Brown takes over, the time is right to make the industry's voice heard, says Jon Collins

Am I the only person to feel a growing sense of frustration with the way alcohol policy is developed in this country? I suspect not. It seems like the more industry is engaged in the process, the less influence we actually have over the outcome (advisory groups with no advice taken, lengthy consultation processes leading to no changes in proposals). And I say this as someone who has spent the last 10 years seeking to get the late-night sector of the licensed trade more engaged in policy creation.

Part of the problem is the Government's insistence on labelling the diverse bunch of alcohol retailers (be they nightclub, bar, restaurant, pub, or hotel operators) and alcohol producers (be it beer, wine, spirits or any other concoction) as the alcohol industry. From the Government's perspective this makes for a very neat parcelling up of a complex sector. Another factor is this Government's increasingly sophisticated approach to consultation - at more levels and in more ways than ever before but resulting in fewer changes than ever. A cynic might suggest that this approach of anonymising the industry and then consulting without hearing gives the Government just the cover it needs to produce short-sighted policies such as alcohol disorder zones.

I firmly believe the recent publication of the latest alcohol strategy for England and Wales (where the alcohol industry is listed as the last of 30 groups making up the target audience) provides us with our last best opportunity to reassert our proper role in policy development. We must work hard now to see the strategy implemented in ways that will benefit our business or we might as well sit back and allow the Department of Health and the Home Office to bring forth whatever new police powers, sanctions, labelling requirements and other initiatives they see fit. The current halfway house, where varied trade groups meet irregularly with officials across government has had and will have only very limited success.

And yet, the strategy provides us with a tremendous opportunity to plan the way ahead for government. On matters such as local partnerships, glassware and bottles, underage sales, responsible retailing and promotions, labelling and promoting a sensible drinking culture, industry already knows what needs to be done, is aware of best practice and has the mechanisms and willingness to share that information. We now need to act as a single industry, not a collection of disparate voices, tell Government to step aside and prove, beyond doubt, that self regulation and partnership activity is the way ahead.

The signs are that this broad coalition is possible - retailers now have fewer differences than ever as a result of the Licensing Act 2003, while the producers recognise that they cannot detach themselves from the debate around consumption, pricing and promotion and its impact on public order and health. This week's transfer of power from Blair to Brown means that we have both a new strategy to work on. A concerted push over the next six months could stand our industry in good stead for years to come.