Councils and police appear to be against mandatory code

The majority of police and council officials in the East Midlands appear unconvinced the government's controversial mandatory code of practice will help raise standards in the industry or cut crime.

The Publican​ understands that in a poll at this week's Home Office code consultation event in Nottingham, nearly 80 per cent of attendees disagreed the code would have a positive impact.

More than half of those at the event were from local councils and the police.

Only around 10 per cent there are involved in the alcohol trade, out of around 100.

The question asked was: "Do you think the proposals in the draft code will be effective in raising standards in how licensed premises operate, help people to make informed choices about their alcohol consumption and as a result help to reduce levels of nuisance, crime and disorder?"

Forty-four per cent said they "strongly disagreed" with the statement and 36 per cent said they "disagreed".

The mandatory code, which is currently working its way through Parliament, sets out to tackle "irresponsible" retailing with measures including a clampdown on promotions.

However a series of other measures are set to increase the amount of red tape for pubs and incur major costs.

A series of consultation meetings are taking place across the country to give people a chance to have their say on the plans.

The remaining meetings are set to take place in Birmingham (July 21), Cambridge (July 23), Portsmouth (July 28), Cardiff (July 30), Weymouth (August 4) and London (August 6).

To find out more about how you can have your say visit www.alcoholconsultation.com