Your say

Pubco support drive? Not at my pub

I was intrigued to read your front-page piece on Punch Taverns

giving intensive support to its licensees (17 April).

I have been a licensee with Punch Taverns and several other companies before them, all at the same public house, for some

18 years.

Only last week my business development manager (BDM) turned up for an appointment to discuss a new lease for August 2009. My BDM was not concerned about how my pub was running. He was more interested in how much to raise the rent and what else they could screw me for.

The very next day I had a visit from an architect/building surveyor who wandered around for 20 minutes making notes. Then on 23 April I received a one-page repair covenant: a couple of radiators want a touch of paint, a wall in the car park wants painting, and a bit of repair to a window and door in an outbuilding. Not too much when you consider what we have spent on the place.

The attached letter stated "as always you will be billed £600 for this on your next account" — yes, £600! You state that Punch Taverns is supporting its lessees, but this is not support — this is extortion.

The BDM could have done this simple task of checking paint work and walls.

Do you think £600 is reasonable when all licensees are feeling the pinch? "Support drive to focus on maximising help" — yes, "help for its licensees". That's what you said. Let's ask other licensees what help they have had.

Peter Williams

via axe.square@hotmail.com

Health not at the heart of the Budget hikes

I'm not a licensee, just a member of Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) who loves pubs and real ale. The latest issue with the Fight the Hikes campaign caught my attention.

Two points. Firstly, we have grown accustomed to increases in alcohol tax — but nothing on this scale. Secondly, and what really annoys me, is the reasoning behind the Chancellor's decision. Normally, the justification has been health concerns, but not this time around. There was no mention at all of binge drinking.

Now, cast your mind back a few years to the huge fuel duty rises and the near chaos that forced the Government to change course.

Again, the justification was the need to raise funds — this time for the NHS. So how can this possibly be fair? There are two basic principles to taxation: when raising funds for general spending, such as the NHS, you tax at source, ie PAYE, so that everybody pays equally, according to their means; and when taxing to control the use of resources, be it pollution or substance abuse, you tax the problem, which is usually the cheap or uncontrolled availability of resources to people not mature enough to handle them.

So, what the Chancellor should obviously have done is introduce minimum pricing in supermarkets and off-licences.

If this were France there would have been riots in the streets years ago. But it's not, so we'll have to make do with a campaign. Is there any way we could mobilise other organisations to help us?

I don't just mean Camra or Society of Independent Brewers, but what about the AA, the Road Haulage Association etc?

And could any pressure be brought to bear on those

companies that supply alcohol

to the bars at Westminster?

Adrian J Evans

via adrian.j.evans@EDS.COM