24-hour boozing – the sober truth

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Title – 24-hour boozing – the sober truth
Source – The Times
Date – 7th March 2008

It does sometimes feel like the headlines are all sensationalist, but that the editorials paint a much more sensible and balanced image on the inside pages; but how many of us have the time to scour the editorials for some positive news. Mick Hume in his piece here, paints what to most of us is a much more realistic and familiar picture of the changes that have materialised following the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003 and counter balances the arguments with the reality faced by many landlords and others working within the licensed retail sector. The reality that it is getting harder as regulation after regulation squeeze margins more every year and put businesses under pressure that many simply can not cope with.

1400 licensed premises closed last year (2007), up from 100 two years previously. Is this really any great surprise, the smoking ban which alienated many and licensing reform which brought additional regulation but with only an average of 21 minutes extra trade on the busiest night, have certainly taken their toll. Whatever the merits of either action and there are certainly arguments in favour and against both, the obvious consequence was a squeeze on a sector that in parts can simply not accommodate any more cost or any more reduction in revenue.

We have to ask ourselves how many other sectors of industry would have to endure such a tightening of opportunity with the obvious consequence of job losses, business failure and hardship through regulation, without being offered a lifeline by the government in the form of an incentive or rescue package at the same time?

Let’s take the smoking ban as an example; it was common knowledge that the smoking ban would hurt trade broadly and so it has proven. Cigarette sales were incidental to most pubs and clubs, that was not where most of the losses have come from, they came from people staying away and reductions in gaming machine revenue. The reaction from the licensed retailers was to invest in shelters and provide alternative arrangements for smokers to allow them to smoke outside, was any funding made available for this? No, the individual businesses had to fund it all themselves, when they were providing facilities for the government to be able to rightly or wrongly implement this law. The reward for millions of pounds of private investment seems to be an inevitable hike in duty on alcohol due in the next budget. How hard can you squeeze and still expect people to support and help you achieve the government targets.

Taking the smoking ban as an example again. Many within the licensed retail sector might support the context in which it was sold. To stop staff working within the sector from suffering the ill effects of second-hand smoke. If this could have been sold with the caveat that the businesses themselves would be supported in other ways from the down turn in trade and the increased costs, then just maybe, it would not have been so hard to sell. But if many jobs have been lost as a direct consequence of the ban, then it is more difficult to stomach. People are not going to support better working environments through regulation, if those regulations effectively put their jobs at risk. Ask someone working in the sector, would you rather work in a smoky pub or be unemployed and the answer is a no-brainer.


I may be simplifying the argument and changes in the law are sometimes needed to address changes in society, but in so many other sectors it seems when the government realises the need for change will result in hardships they look at other ways to provide for those people affected; need I even mention Northern Rock? But the licensed retail sector certainly at grassroots level does seem to be left hanging out to dry at every opportunity, when there are so many other and more creative ways they could be helped to continue to provide employment and growth to the country as a whole.



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