CAMRA calls for minimum pricing

Minimum pricing should be introduced to reduce the gap between supermarket and pub prices, according to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

The consumer group called for urgent action from the government as it launched the Good Beer Guide 2009 today.

Editor Roger Protz said that cheap beer in supermarkets is "killing the British pub".

He said: "Over 150 pubs a month are closing and the main reason is simple, people are abandoning their locals because they can buy cheap supermarket beer at a fraction of the price charged by pubs."

A consultation is currently underway in Scotland on a range of measures designed to reduce alcohol related issues. This includes minimum pricing and a ban on off-sales to under-21s.

Protz added: "One solution is for England and Wales to follow the example of the Scottish government and consider a minimum pricing policy for alcohol sold in the off-trade.

"Urgent action is needed to help save the great British institution, your friendly neighbourhood local."

Industry statistics show that off-trade beer prices have fallen one per cent in the last year compared to on-trade price increases of 4.4 per cent.

CAMRA blamed cheap supermarket alcohol for being a major factor in the struggle many pubs are currently facing.

"Publicans who permit bad behaviour lose their licences. Supermarkets show no such restraints.

"They have no idea what happens to cheap alcohol once it leaves their stores. In too many cases, it's passed on to under-age drinkers. It's the supermarkets, not pubs, that encourage binge drinking, with their massively discounted sales of alcohol."