Help pubs fill jobs after public sector cull

Cuts in public sector jobs means it's even more important for Government to slash regulation in the pub sector - so it can "step into the breach" and create jobs.

That's the message from British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds in response to the cuts announced in the Chancellor's Comprehensive Spending Review today.

About 490,000 public sector jobs are likely to be lost by 2014 under the plans, with Government department budgets slashed by 19% on average.

"If anything, our message is a positive one," said Simmonds. "We have hundreds of thousands of jobs, a lot of part time jobs and lots of jobs that don't need qualifications to do.

"We are willing and open to step into the breach by creating new jobs when around us the public sector is being cut back.

"We need to have policies that will incentivise and help the private sector to grow.

"We need to get home the message to ministers for them to work across Government to work with us and make sure we don't have lots of unintended regulations."

She gave the example of the potentially damaging impact of the current plans to overhaul licensing, which include the late-night levy and greater powers for police and councils.

Simmonds' call was echoed by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), which said the Review contained nothing to recognise the "fragile state" of business confidence or to reassure companies.

"From the perspective of small businesses, the CSR was telling in what it did not contain," said ALMR head of communications Kate Nicholls.

"What was really worrying was the expectation that the private sector will pick up the slack and provide job opportunities for those facing redundancy.

"We can do that, but not with one hand behind our back.

"When we came out of the last recession, pubs and bars created one in five new jobs. Our ability to do so again will be heavily dependent on having a supportive regulatory framework.

"We simply can't deliver a private sector recovery in the pub trade if we are burdened with additional red tape and increases in the cost of doing business which this Government is currently proposing in its licensing reforms."

In the spending review, George Osborne announced that the retirement age is going to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020.