Pubs minister still committed to below cost booze sale ban
The Government has renewed its pledge to ban the sale of alcohol at below cost despite opting not to include it in the Social Responsibility and Policing Bill earlier this month, as many had expected.
Conservative MP Bob Neill, who was recently appointed community pubs minister, told MPs that the Government was still committed to its election pledge and hoped to make a formal announcement "very shortly".
Speaking in a wide-ranging House of Commons debate on the future of the pub on Friday (10 December), he said: "One of the keys is finding a workable measure by which we can capture that concept. We are working at present with retailers and other interested bodies."
His comments came as several MPs highlighted the plight of pubs which had to cope not only with competition from supermarkets and off-licences on price, but also with the problems caused by drinkers "preloading" on cheap booze before going out.
Earlier in the debate, Conservative MP for Battersea Jane Ellison quoted a letter from Geoff Dennis, manager of the Goat in Battersea, on the issue. He told the MP in his letter that publicans were having to deal with the consequences of young people preloading on cheap alcohol in preparation for a night out. He added: "Below-cost selling of alcohol directly threatens the future of pubs, which offer not only a focus for community life but also provide a safe and supervised place… to drink responsibly."
Meanwhile, Neill said the Localism Bill, published this week, would make it easier for local communities to take over the running of their local pub if it is faced with closure.
The bill, part of the Government's plans to create a "Big Society", will set out powers for a "community right to buy", which allows communities the first chance to buy assets such as pubs and post offices about to go on the open market.
"We want to provide people and community organisations with a fair chance to take over facilities and assets that are important to them. We will use the bill as a vehicle to address that and certainly envisage that it could include local pubs," he said.
But he offered licensees little prospect of help with the impending rise in VAT, which goes up to 20% in January 2011. "In a difficult economic situation it is not possible to deal with all of these issues. We want to give pubs not so much a handout as a level playing field."
He pointed to a "more generous" small business rate relief scheme, which was introduced in October, as well as proposals to give councils the power to levy discretionary business rate discounts to support particular types of businesses, which could include pubs.
Neill became community pubs minister in October this year, following on from a similar position created for John Healey in the last Labour Government. The debate was called by the Save the Pub Group, chaired by Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland.
FUTURE OF THE PUB DEBATE HIGHLIGHTSKaren Bradley (Conservative, Staffordshire Moorlands) The pubs that have closed as a result of the smoking ban would not reopen if it were rescinded. The wet pubs that are successful have adapted to the smoking ban and compensated for it.
Karen Bradley When my family bought out of their beer tie last year the pubco from which they bought the tie told them the average additional amount it charged per barrel under the tie was £185. A 36-gallon barrel of Carling Black Label sold under the tie was £369, compared with the free-trade price of £227.
Andrew Turner (Conservative, Isle of Wight) Local pubs are becoming increasingly expensive and their competitiveness is being reduced through compulsory ties. We must, therefore, do more to help landlords maintain pubs and to reduce the burden that large companies and supermarkets and the law put on them.
Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat, Leeds North West) Although we are looking forward to the upcoming decentralisation and localism bill, it must give communities the right to have a say, through the planning process, in the future of community pubs.
Andrew Griffiths (Conservative, Burton) Under the previous Government, duty on beer increased by 60%, while the increase on spirits was just 15%. That differential had a huge impact on the viability of the British brewing industry.
<span class=""noindex"">By Neil Gerrard
E-mail your comments to Neil Gerrard here.
Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next job here with Caterersearch.com jobs
|
