The "Surrey middle classes" shouldn't be punished when it comes to tackling problem drinkers — that's the view of shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, speaking today at the Business in Sport and Leisure Conference.
Hunt said fighting the problems of alcohol abuse was not about "punishing the Surrey middle classes", such as his parents, "who apparently drink too much". Instead, "it's about finding a way to deal with the minority (of problem drinkers) on a localised level."
Hunt also said a Conservative Government "would not turn the clock back to 11pm drinking time".
But Hunt hit out at the "big-bang way" that 24 hour licensing was introduced, which he said "fuelled some problem drinking rather than "moving to a cafe society with 24 hour licensing".
He insisted that "pubs are part of the solution, not the problem", when it comes to anti social behaviour. He said the solution to problem drinking had to be a localised one.
Hunt was speaking at the BISL Conference, held in Lord's Cricket Ground in London today.
Earlier Gerry Sutcliffe, licensing minister, reiterated the importance of community pubs, and said it was a "myth" that "live music events were in decline", given an increased level of applications for entertainment licences and temporary event notices.
Sutcliffe also said he was "very keen to make sure that the mandatory code is proportionate", adding, "I don't want the industry to be punished for the few who drink alcohol irresponsibly".
Managed sector to emerge quickly from recession
Ernst & Young's Cameron Cartmell, partner in leisure and hospitality division, told delegates: "The managed pub sector has, in the last six months, seen a return to growth and profitability." He added that after falling quickly into the recession, the better-managed part of the pub industry was likely to emerge quickly.
But he said the tenanted sector would recover, though at a much slower rate, given that it could not respond as quickly as the managed sector to market conditions and implement cost reductions and drinks promotions.
"Although encouragingly, there appears to be a general consensus in the tenanted area that trading performance is stabilising," said Cartmell.