Trade body the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) has met Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe and officials from the Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Home Office to press for urgent Govern-ment action to tackle irresponsible off-trade promotions.
This follows hard on the heels of briefings to the Prime Minister, the No 10 Policy Unit and the Department of Health before Christmas.
Chief executive Nick Bish said: "We had some extremely positive meetings with the Licensing Minister and Home Office Alcohol Team."
"There has been much talk about 24-hour licensing, but this is only a reality in the off-trade sector. The number of 24-hour off-licences has doubled since the Licensing Act was introduced - almost all the new ones are supermarkets.
"It is no surprise that off-trade alcohol sales are up 50% since 1997 and are 24% cheaper in real terms over the same period. If the Government is serious about alcohol consumption then it must do more to encourage all industry sectors to adopt a more responsible approach."
Bish told ministers that pubs and bars themselves now face paying 44% more for Carlsberg or Grolsch than their customers can buy it at Sainsbury's or Tesco.
At the meetings, the ALMR urged the Government to impose a ban on below-cost selling, but also put forward a number of other recommendations for revisions to Guidance:
l The presumption of longer licensing hours for supermarkets should be removed from Guidance - currently supermarkets are allowed to sell alcohol at any time when the shop is open
l Re-introduce controls on the siting of alcohol displays
l References in Guidance to control of irresponsible promotions should explicitly refer to off-trade offers.
Bish added: "These are simple steps that the Govern
ment could and should take to give a clear signal to the supermarkets.
"Pubs are stamping out irresponsible promotions; it is high time they did so too."