Feb
5
2010
Background :
* Firstly, accept the fact that small traditional pubs are essential talking shops for local communities. They are often the only place where the local populace mingles and discusses local and national issues and are at the very heart of a village or urban area.
They are also an essential and an envied aspect of our national heritage and need protecting.
* Accept the fact also that some retailers are selling alcoholic products irresponsibly, often at little over cost price or as a lost leader and that alcohol purchased in a supermarket can easily be passed on to under-age drinkers.
By contrast, small public houses sell their produce at realistic prices in a tightly controlled environment.
Sadly, some of the large managed pub chains have seen fit to sell their products too cheaply, thereby shutting down smaller competitors and fuelling the national binge drinking culture.
If anyone is in any doubt as to who is fuelling the big increase in under-age drinking and the increase in alcohol-related diseases, on the one hand look at the record number of public houses and private members’ clubs that are closing and on the other look at the huge exponential increase in the amount of precious shelf space devoted to the sale of alcohol in our supermarkets. Pubs are not the culprits.
Remedy :
Introduce a minimum price for alcoholic products such as beers, ciders, wines and alcopops.
Suggest the following index-linked regime :
No minimum price for alcohol free products.
Up to 3% alcohol – £1.50 per 500 ml (or pint)
Up to 4% alcohol – £2.00 per 500 ml “
Up to 5% alcohol – £2.50 per 500 ml “
Over 5% alcohol – £3 per 500 ml “
Wines – £5 minimum per bottle.
This will prevent the supermarkets and big pub chains from selling alcohol at giveaway prices and create a more level playing field for small pubs.
No ‘deals’ permitted such as ‘2 4 1’, etc.
* Get utility prices down to realistic levels by leaning on the utility companies.
Commercial gas and electricity prices have spiralled out of control, even when wholesale prices have been plummeting, and have put many clubs and pubs out of business.
* Abolish Business Rates for small businesses with turnover less than £1m.
Business Rates are nothing other than a tax on jobs.
This will also assist the small free houses to compete with the multiples.
* Introduce a lower rate of duty on draught beers and ciders, as these products are not sold in supermarkets, only in an age-regulated environment.
* Abolish the tenanted ‘tie’, other than for pubs owned by breweries, then only on own-brewed products.
Make it an offence for a brewery with tied houses to sell ‘tied’ products cheaper to the free trade, thereby undercutting their own tenants.
* Return licensing to the Magistrates.
Since local councils reluctantly took over licencing, cost to a licencee has risen from a nominal sum to several hundred pounds annually and the standard of service is infinitely worse than that dispensed by the Clerk to the Licencing Justices, who was a legally qualified individual.
The Magistrates looked after licensing successfully for over 800 years until the Blair administration handed it over to the councils.
It was change for change’s sake.
* Introduce a more benign tax regime to encourage growth of businesses large and small and to attract huge inward investment into the UK.
Corporation Tax should be a flat 10%.
Ditto Income Tax, with no tax payable on first £10,000 (this looks like it is going to get implemented).
These tax levels would benefit the whole of the British economy and get the country back to work.
* Finally, be the first administration in this country to accept that the public is watching too much television to the detriment of many other more useful activities, including (well down the list) visiting local pubs.
Perhaps a government recommendation of no more that 2 hours of television per day would be in order, as our citizens are now spending more time glued to the television than those of any other EU country.
Hugh Price
Director
Tynemouth Lodge Hotel Limited
