'Government's ADZ plans in tatters'

"The government has failed to force rowdy pubs and clubs to pay for extra policing, six months after new powers came into force. Ministers pledged to create new 'alcohol disorder zones' (ADZs) in areas with high levels of alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour. Yet the Home Office has confirmed that since the powers came into force at the beginning of June, not a single one of the zones has been set up, with some police officers and council chiefs arguing they are a 'bureaucratic nightmare' and too expensive to create. - Sunday Telegraph​

"Health experts and Scottish politicians are calling for a 'dangerous and deeply irresponsible' drinking trend to be axed. In a bid to shore up flagging profits nightclubs and bars across Scotland are launching 'recession sessions' with cheap drinks on sale. The licensed trade has been badly bruised by the credit crunch and now some club owners are hitting back by offering night-long promotions with beers and spirits being sold cheaper than soft drinks. But MSPs and alcohol awareness experts claim the nights fly in the face of incoming legislation designed to tackle binge-drinking and antisocial behaviour." - Scotland on Sunday​

"The boss of one of the country's biggest private equity firms has criticised the growing use of 'quickie bankruptcies' for companies, warning that the practice could cheat creditors out of their money and even be illegal. Jon Moulton, the high-profile boss of Alchemy Partners, which owns the Tattershall Castle pub group, said the technique - known as pre-pack administration - was 'wide open to abuse'. Pre-packs are increasingly used by directors and owners to jettison loss-making parts of a business along with its debts while setting up a new one to take over the profitable operations." - Mail On Sunday​

"Nearly eight million pints of beer were poured down the drain last year by Customs officers clamping down on booze bandits. That is double the amount confiscated from criminals in 2007. The equivalent of more than 700,000 bottles of spirits and 1.1 million bottles of wine were also seized. A spokesman for the British Beer and Pub Association said: 'I think it is a case of the Revenue and Customs getting better. They are improving at catching people rather than the problem increasing.'" - Daily Star on Sunday​