Scottish pubs call for supermarket action
Scotland’s biggest pub groups have called for Government action to stamp out irresponsible promotions on alcohol in supermarkets.
Supermarkets: alcohol sold cheaply
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), G1 Group and Punch Taverns — representing around 10% of the Scottish pub sector with around 4,000 employees — has written to the Scottish Government urging them to force supermarkets to act as responsibly as pubs.
But the groups said while minimum pricing would reduce consumption, it needs to be part of a broader package to prevent irresponsible promotions and pricing.
“The levels of social responsibility in alcohol retailing demanded of pubs encompass not only the sale, but also the supervision, of alcohol consumption and there is a need to create a level playing field between pub operators and supermarkets in this regard,” the letter said.
M&B chief executive Adam Fowle said: “Government policy and supermarket ‘binge prices’ have been driving the consumption of alcohol away from the supervised environment of the pub such that today 70% of all alcohol is purchased in supermarkets.
“We are therefore urging policy makers to implement as quickly as possible measures to raise supermarkets to the higher standards of social responsibility in alcohol retailing which are already, rightly, expected of pubs, for the benefit of both the Scottish economy and society.”
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