Lack of evidence pre-loading causes problems, says Home Office

A government official has said the reason it is not imposing national laws around supermarket alcohol deals is because there isn't enough evidence linking pre-loading with crime and disorder.

The admission came from the Home Office's Dexter Vickery at a consultation in Cambridge on the mandatory code of practice, attended by The Publican. ​

Asked to explain why the code is so heavily weighted against the on-trade, Vickery said: "We don't feel the evidence is there to link pre-loading with crime and disorder."

But he earlier said the Home Office was "alive to the concerns" around supermarket pricing.

Four out of the six national conditions in the controversial code are exclusively aimed at the on-trade, while 15 out of 16 of the local conditions that can be applied by councils, relate to pubs and clubs.

The trade is fiercely opposing many parts of the code, which is currently passing through Parliament as part of the Policing and Crime Bill.

Many feel the authorities already have enough powers in the Licensing Act to deal with the problems of alcohol-related disorder.

And appetite among police and councils for the code appears very slim.

During a vote at yesterday's event, attended by around 70 people from councils, the police and the trade, 82 per cent disagreed that the local conditions would raise standards and cut crime, while more than half disagreed with the national conditions.

One police officer told the audience: "We have enough powers already, just not the resources. Imposing more legislation will just be counter-productive."

Previous events in Birmingham and Nottingham saw similar overwhelming opposition to the code, which will force pubs to offer smaller wine and spirit measures, free tap water and display point-of-sale drinks unit information.

Concern was also raised about the additional cost to pubs, but the Home Office's Vickery said: "Adding costs to responsible businesses is absolutely not what we want to do."

• To respond to the consultation, which closes on August 5, visit: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/consultations or request a paper response form either by calling 0207 035 1759 or writing to Senyo Agbohlah, 4th Floor Peel Building, Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.