Labour red tape costing each pub £30,000 a year

By Ewan Turney

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Red tape Cost Bureaucracy Legislation

Labour red tape costing each pub £30,000 a year
Paperwork takes up to seven hours a week for two thirds of pubs.

The cost of complying with new Government legislation since Labour came to power is now costing each pub a staggering £30,000 a year on average, according to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).

The ALMR has been campaigning for a reduction in bureaucracy and red tape for more than five years and will present evidence to the Community Pubs Inquiry at its next session. A survey of over 3,000 pubco tenants found that 60% spent between two and seven hours a week dealing with paperwork while 75% have had to employ external advisors in order to cope.

"Red tape is a huge burden,"​ said ALMR chief executive Nick Bish.

"It is not just the bill that causes problems, but the fact that it will cost six hours of a manager's time filling in forms when that time could be better spent looking after customers."

The ALMR evidence to the inquiry will focus on the positive, practical measures that could be taken to ease the burden immediately.

It would like to see incentives for business investment, thresholds for business rate relief widened, reform of stamp duty land tax and a review of each new piece of legislation after two years to reveal true costs.

Meanwhile British Hospitality Association chief executive Bob Cotton has blasted the Government for introducing a raft of bills that have entangled the industry in red tape and increased costs.

"The Work and Families Bill, in addition to introducing up to six months paternity pay and eventually doubling maternity pay, will add 40% to the number of statutory paid holidays to which employers are entitled," said Cotton. "As a result perhaps 4m days a year will be lost across our industry."

He said that confidence in the Government had reached an all-time low after the "chaotic" implementation of the Licensing Act.

"The question has to be asked whether Government is capable of organising any process without adding cost and confusion," ​he added.

We want to hear what we can do to aid you. We want to know:

* The role you play in your community * The challenges you face * Your ideas on how to solve the problems of red tape.

Contact Ewan Turney on 01293 610388, or ewan.turney@william-reed.co.uk.

Related topics Legislation

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