"A Midland pub has been put up for sale for £1 - less than half the cost of a pint. Wannabe landlords are being offered the chance to purchase The Great Western in Acocks Green, Birmingham, at the rock-bottom price. Current owner Enterprise Inns initially set a £10,000 purchase figure on the three-storey boozer, but failed to attract any offers. Now in a desperate bid to entice a new leaseholder during the credit crunch, the company has dropped the price to a rock-bottom £1. But the incredible figure may be too good to be true. Because any buyer would have to pay extra for furniture and contents - as well as beer and rent to the landlord." - Birmingham Sunday Mercury
"People who lose their jobs could be denied unemployment benefit if they refuse to tell the government how much they drink. New powers will allow for individuals who apply for jobseeker's allowance to be forced to take compulsory alcohol tests if officials do not believe what they say about their drinking habits. Those who refuse to cooperate could be deprived of the benefit for six months. Officials will also be able to check the truth of applicants' answers through other agencies, such as the police. The proposals are part of the government's welfare reform bill." - Sunday Times
"Heavy drinkers are receiving nearly one in four of the UK's liver transplants, it was revealed at the weekend, igniting a furious row about the ethics of allocating organs to people with alcohol problems. Figures show that transplants for heavy drinkers have risen by more than 60 per cent in the past decade, while waiting lists have lengthened. In December 1997, 180 people in the UK were awaiting a liver transplant, compared with 325 in the same month last year." - Observer
"Every man and woman over 16 in Scotland is downing an average of 23 units of alcohol a week, shocking new government figures have revealed .Despite maximum safe limits of just 14 units for women and 21 for men, previously secret drinks industry statistics have proved the entire nation is effectively over the limit. The figures show Scots bought 640 million litres of drink in 2007, including 39 million litres of spirits, nearly 100 million of wine and 427 million litres of beer. That amounted to nearly 50 million litres of pure alcohol a year, 11.8 litres or 23 units a week for every man and woman in the country aged 16 and over." - Scotland on Sunday
"A new product which tests the amount of alcohol in breast milk could encourage mothers to binge drink and harm their baby, experts warn. Milkscreen, which goes on sale in Britain this week, contains test pads that change colour on contact with breast milk containing 'unsafe' doses of alcohol. But experts warn that amounts of alcohol given the green light by the test could still be harmful to babies because the undeveloped livers of newborns find it very difficult to process even small amounts." - Mail On Sunday
"Menzies Hotels, backed by Iranian tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, has been forced into expensive renegotiations over its huge debt pile after the hotel chain breached its banking covenants. The 17-hotel Menzies chain is another in a growing list of property-backed deals backed by HBOS, now one half of Lloyds Banking Group, that has run into difficulties. Tchenguiz's investment vehicle R20 bought Menzies at the end of 2006 for £180m, which included a debt package of £225m supplied solely by HBOS. It is understood that Menzies will have to supply a new business plan and budget to HBOS in the coming weeks in return for a new set of financing terms for the business. R20 might have to inject up to £5m into the business to secure the new terms." - Sunday Times