The Government’s announcement of its Consultation on Alcohol Strategy will result in an even more intensive debate on the subject, and especially the pros and cons on minimum alcohol pricing. Here, we show the initial responses from the WSTA and BBPA.
Wine and Spirit Trade Association
Chief Executive Miles Beale commented:
“It is hard to understand why the Government is pushing ahead with the consultation now, when there is a wall of opposition in Europe, a legal challenge in Scotland, a lack of any real evidence to support minimum unit pricing, opposition from consumers and concerns raised from within Cabinet itself.”
“However, we do welcome the Government’s decision to consult on its Alcohol Strategy over a 10-week period. This avoids the busiest time of year for our members and recognises the new and contentious nature of the proposals – in particular, promotions restrictions and minimum unit pricing.
“Alcohol misuse is a serious and complex problem for a small number of people in this country. We recognise this and are committed to tackling alcohol misuse – but there is no silver bullet. A wide range of policies are required to address problem drinking, including improving education, better enforcement and building on what already works.
Minimum Unit Pricing
“Minimum unit pricing will punish responsible consumers with higher prices, hitting the poorest hardest and will do nothing to address the causes of alcohol misuse.
“The Government’s own figures demonstrate that progress is being made, with total alcohol consumption, average weekly consumption and the proportion of people drinking over the recommended weekly limits all falling since 2005. Given this positive direction of travel it raises serious questions about why the Government is insistent on pushing ahead with its plans for minimum unit pricing in the face of industry, consumer and legal opposition.
“There is no evidence that minimum unit pricing will tackle alcohol misuse – in fact the international evidence suggests that problem drinkers are the least likely to be deterred by price rises.
Promotions restrictions
“There is no compelling evidence linking retailer promotions with alcohol misuse – indeed overall levels of alcohol consumption are falling. The most recent evaluation of the ‘multi-buy’ ban in Scotland showed that it has had no significant impact on alcohol sales. This raises serious doubts about the effectiveness of a promotions ban in reducing alcohol misuse.
“The drinks industry is committed to tackling alcohol misuse. This idea of a promotions ban is another distraction which threatens to side-line proven and effective industry measures to tackle the problem, for example Community Alcohol Partnerships.”
British Beer & Pub Association
Commenting on today’s alcohol strategy consultation, Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive, said:
“It is good that the Government acknowledges that sensible, responsible drinking supports pubs as part of our community fabric. I hope that the policies emerging from this review will reflect that – any review of the Mandatory Code should not result in new onerous legislation or regulation for pubs. We do however welcome further clarification on the ban on promotions, to give greater clarity.
Multi-buy promotions
“On multi-buy promotions, this would affect beer more than any other drinks as beer is the most common type of drink sold in this way. However, if the Government is seeking to introduce minimum pricing, it is difficult to see why they feel the need for this.
Minimum alcohol pricing
“On minimum pricing, there are differing views on its potential role in tackling alcohol-related harm. We strongly believe that alcohol should be priced in a way that is socially responsible, but there are concerns that minimum pricing would penalise a sensible majority of people who drink in moderation. The BBPA has always supported a ban on below-cost selling, and we would have been happy to work with the Government in looking at ways to achieve this.
Tackling misuse, raising awareness
“Alongside our member companies, we are working with the Government to tackle alcohol misuse, and raise alcohol awareness. While we can and will do more, we have a good track record. For beer, over 90% of bottled or canned products already have unit information on the packaging. From 2013, these will display not just alcohol unit labelling, but also the Government’s lower-risk drinking guidelines and a pregnancy warning.
“The BBPA and Drinkaware have also worked together on a customer unit awareness campaign for pubs. Posters and other materials were launched last year, are available on our website, and are working their way to pubs. BBPA members are also involved in a huge range of initiatives and pledges under the Government’s Responsibility Deal.”
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers
Kate Nicholls, strategic affairs director of the ALMR, commented:
“We are pleased that Governments both sides of the border have now finally woken up to the fact that it is the plethora of pocket money priced alcohol promotions which are the real problem. With 70% of alcohol now bought and consumed at home, and widespread loss leading, punitive measures against pubs and bars are not delivering either Government’s public policy objectives on health and crime and disorder.
“ALMR has been campaigning over the past five years for a package of measures to re-regulate off sales – controls on hours and siting were swept away in 2005 – and subject all alcohol sales to the same rigorous conditions which currently apply only to bars and pubs.
“We are disappointed that the consultation does not go further in this area and get a grip on bulk sales, price led advertising and in-store promotions. There is nothing here which will stop supermarkets continuing to sell wholesale quantities of alcohol to the public at prices some pubs cannot buy it. The consultation itself acknowledges that there will be net benefit to the off-trade.
“Worse, the prospect of additional costs and controls on pubs and bars is clearly flagged. We have an open-ended question asking what more can be done which can only result in pubs, clubs and bars signing a further a blank cheque in operating costs.
“What we need is not only measures to make it more expensive to drink at home, but also action to remove the horrendous regulatory and tax burdens which are crippling the pub and literally pricing many out of the market. Encouraging people to drink in pubs means that they consume measured quantities served by supervised and trained staff, and promotes responsible consumption.”