Yates ups ante in funding police to tackle alcohol-related d

by John Harrington

High-street bar operator Yates is to increase its annual "community fund", to help local authorities tackle problems caused by alcohol-related disorder, from £50,000 to £70,000 next year.

Yates chief executive Mark Jones also said he was in talks with a third police force about contributing to policing costs. The company is already funding policing in Nottingham andhas offered funds in Swinton, Greater Manchester.

Jones used his platform at last week's National Pubwatch Conference to urge other pub and club operators to follow Yates' lead and accept responsibility for the problems caused by alcohol-fuelled disorder.

Addressing a packed hall of licensees, trade groups, police officers and local authorities, the Yates boss said: "Leaders in my industry are still in denial about the negative effects that alcohol has on people's behaviour and on their health.

"I've read nearly every socialresponsibility statement for most pub companies. You couldn't argue with a single word of any of them [but] most of them are completely impractical in the actions that they propose going forward."

Jones outlined details of Yates' BarSafe initiative, which helps fund local authority schemes to ease problems at night. BarSafe also makes active participation in pubwatch a condition of a manager's bonus.

Jones said sales had fallen at Yates pubs since it cut thealcohol content of its cocktails, also as part of the BarSafe initiative, from eight units to six. "We took a tough decision there," he said. "It cost us sales, but we think it was the right thing to do."

Yates is paying for extra police officers in Nottingham as part of a trial scheme.

Jones encouraged other pubcos to follow Yates' lead and stump up cash for extra officers where necessary. He warned that the trade risks being lumped with an "alcohol tax" if it fails to act voluntarily.

"I am not one for this debate of: well, pub companies pay VAT, pay duty. That is head in the sand, yesterday's arguments," he said.

Jones also revealed where the current community fund had been spent ­ an outdoor urinal in Taunton; CCTV in Poole; and an "SOS" bus, which gives medical help to revellerswithout taking resources away from hospitals, in Middlesbrough.

ACPO officer calls for holistic approach'

A representative from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) called for young people to be introduced to alcohol in a controlled, "family environment" to foster a more responsible attitude to drinking.

But Alan Studd, staff officer for ACPO licensing spokesman Chris Allison, re-emphasised the ACPO line that the trade must end cheap drinks deals to stand a chance of beating late-night disorder.

Studd also called for a consistent sentencing policy for drunken offenders, and proposed that judges should consider alcohol to be an aggravating, not mitigating, factor in sentencing.

Addressing the issue of irresponsibility, he said: "It may be appropriate to start introducing youngsters to alcohol in a more controlled family environment, not hiding it away, saying that it's something you are not allowed until your 18th birthday and then go out and binge drink."

And he added: "We need to improve the education. We've heard about some of the benefits, the social benefits, but there are also health risks of alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse."

Studd, a chief inspector at the Metropolitan Police, called for a "holistic approach", to deal with alcohol-related problems. "The view of ACPO is that none of us can address these issues individually. Government, the industry, police, local authorities; we all have a stake in attacking these problems."

Street-corner' strategies

Local partnerships are the most effective way of tackling late-night disorder ­ far better than "flash-in-the-pan" initiatives imposed by a "remote" central Government.

That is the view of BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) chief executive John McNamara, who told the conference that initiatives such as pubwatch are the best way to combat alcohol-related problems in their local area.

Announcing his "street corner strategy", the BII boss pointed to examples of partnership schemes in places such as Bournemouth, Manchester, and Bedford thathad successfully cut problems of late-night disorder without the need for central Government interference.

"[These schemes] got things done. What doesn't get things done is a centrally-imposed national initiative, flash-in-the-pan, here today, gone tomorrow. We have to keep it local; we have to keep it relevant. Local partnerships are the only thing that works."

McNamara also urged the trade to report irresponsible licensees and get them shut down.

"My message to you today as pubwatches, and police officers, and local authorities and licensees, is if you know of rogue operators report them, close them down. Get rid of them. Every trade association, every responsible licensee would endorse that."