Refused: one million youngsters a month

The trade must shout louder about its achievements in responsible retailing - and not be blamed for factors beyond its control.

That was the message from British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) director of communications Mark Hastings at last week's Responsible Drinks Retailing Awards in London.

Hastings gave a "reality check" to critics who say Britain is blighted by excessive drinking.

He said alcohol consumption and the number of binge drinkers has fallen since licensing reform in 2005.

And Hastings spelt out the actions taken by the pub trade over recent years, most notably steps to curb under-age drinking - pubs are currently turning away one million underage drinkers per month.

A host of other initiatives including Best Bar None, pubwatches and business improve-ment districts show the trade is taking its responsibilities seriously, Hastings added.

"We need to have greater transparency about what we do well. There's a good story to tell and we've not told it loud enough."

But Hastings stressed: "We don't like being held to account for things we can't control ourselves.

"If you are talking about 11 to 15-year-olds drinking and your sole focus is what shops, supermarkets and pubs are doing, you are missing the big picture here. The vast majority of the drinking of this particular group is from alcohol that is bought by the parents, and it takes places in their own home.

"I think what that emphasises is the scale of the cultural challenges that we face when we are talking about children's drinking."

Hastings added: "Binge-drinking rates in high-tax counties are significantly above those in low-tax countries, so I don't think it's anything to do with tax. I don't think it's necessarily anything to do with price.

"I think it's to do with deeply-embedded patterns within the drinking cultures of these societies."

Lessons to be learnt

Some lessons from the conference:

l The trade must shout louder about its achievements in social responsibility

l High alcohol tax is not the answer

l Better education on alcohol for children is crucial

l Random test purchasing has had its day

l More retailers are refusing PASS-accredited proof of age

l Over-zealous officials are still blighting the trade

l Police and pubcos can still do more to support pubwatches

'pubcos could improve local Pubwatch support'

National Pubwatch chairman Steve Baker called for pub company "middle managers" and local police officers to do more to support pubwatch groups. Baker also backed tougher penalties for thugs who assault licensees.

He said most large pub companies support pubwatches, but "that can be seriously undermined by middle managers who think only in terms of short-term profit margins".

"Pub companies could greatly improve their support for local pubwatch schemes

by rewarding their staff for active membership. Attendance at meetings should be seen as a positive activity that should be encouraged and be part of the company performance culture."

He stressed the need for police support, adding: "It still amazes me that some forces will not share photographs with pubwatch members. If they can't identify people who have been barred then how can they ensure that troublemakers are kept out of the pubs and clubs?"

And he questioned the use of cautions for assaults on licensees. "I know that when I was a serving police officer I expected anyone who assaulted me to feel the full weight of the law.

"Shouldn't we extend the same support to a licensee, particularly if they are assaulted when dealing with people intent on breaking licensing legislation?"

pubs 'caught between different enforcers'

Pubs are still being hammered by over-zealous and inconsistent enforcement by regulatory bodies, according to Simon Kaye, commercial director of Walkabout operator Regent Inns.

Kaye listed recent positive steps taken by Regent, including regular forums with environmental health officers, mock test purchases and extra training for door staff. Last week, Regent rejected 5,000 people for not having correct ID and 2,000 were denied entry for being drunk.

But Kaye bemoaned the "prejudices" towards the trade that exist among some councils that "refuse to engage".

He gave the example of fire inspectors. "Today they are not there to give us

advice. They are there to say: 'you know what the bloody rules are, you need to ensure that you are following those rules. If I find that you do something wrong I will penalise you'."

Kaye criticised the inconsistency of regulators, which have increased in number with smoking inspectors and council licensing officers.

"We are caught right in the middle of different enforcers with different agendas.

"Often they cross territory. Quite often they don't agree on policy and quite often give different interpretations on national guidelines.

"If you multiply these 49 topics [of enforcement] by five different enforcers in 100 locations you get almost 25,000 different ways in which we've got to get our act together."

Kaye urged Government to honour its commitment to reduce the regulatory burden for businesses by starting with the licensed trade.

He blasted cheap supermarket alcohol, calling for the Office of Fair Trading, the Department of Health and the Home Office to "join up and address what I think is a fundamental problem".

'pockets of resistance'

Rising awareness of test purchasing has meant more pubs and shops are refusing to accept PASS-accredited proof-of-age cards, according to Robert Humphreys, chairman of the PASS board. He gave an impassioned call for all alcohol retailers to accept cards with the PASS hologram.

Humphreys said there were "pockets of resistance" to accepting the cards. "Most of the major players in alcohol retailing, and all the trade associations, are behind it. There remain areas of concern at a local level.

"In the last few months the number has gone back up again. That's a consequence of increasing awareness of test purchasing.

"The time has come to stand up for young people's legal right [to buy alcohol]."

targeting offenders

Random test purchasing is probably a thing of the past, trading standards boss Brandon Cook told the conference.

When asked whether he thought trading standards departments had moved away from random test purchasing, Cook said:

"I would have thought in general we probably have. Local authorities are very limited on resources. It needs to be targeted, based on the intelligence we get."

Cook, team leader for fraud and community safety at the Trading Standards Institute, called for the trade to help identify under-18s who try to buy alcohol.

"Whether it's bar staff or shop assistants, they have a lot of intelligence. They probably live locally and have a lot of knowledge locally. We need to tap into that. If they come forward first and say, 'I'm doing every thing I can, please help,' I think that's a step in the right direction."

Cook also stressed the need for better eduction in schools to encourage children not to try to buy alcohol - stressing that youngsters, rather than the trade, are the "root cause" of underage sales.