North East pubs want minimum price introduced

A new report has claimed pubs in the North East are losing out to the availability of cheap alcohol in supermarkets.

Balance, a health group whose stated aim is to encourage people to drink less, said its research showed more than half of the region's landlords saw business has dropped off over the last year, and a third expect the decline to continue.

The group's North East office, its first in the UK, said the sale of alcohol at what it called "pocket money prices" had been identified as a key reason for the trend, with almost nine in 10 landlords saying that supermarket price promotions have damaged trade.

Balance claimed that more than 80 per cent of North East publicans support the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol, which would increase the price of cheap, strong alcohol and close the price gap between pubs and supermarkets.

The group surveyed 244 of the region's landlords, revealing that more than half had experienced a decline in business last year; two in five predict that this decline will continue over the next 12 months and more than half of publicans said they were forced to offer drinks promotions to counteract supermarket price cuts

The survey found a third put the introduction of a minimum price per unit in the top three factors that could make the biggest impact on boosting their profits.

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, said: "It's no surprise that alcohol sold at pocket money prices is having a major impact on the livelihoods of those working in the region's pub trade.

"The introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol would level the playing field and enable pubs to compete. It would have an impact on the pre-loading trend and subsequently reduce the problems pre-loaders are causing themselves and society.

"Importantly it would return life to the British community pub at a time when government is focussed on encouraging communities to take on greater responsibilities."

But a representative of the drinks industry disagreed with using pricing strategies to remedy the situation.

Gavin Partington, spokesman for the Wine & Spirits Trade Association, said: "We do not believe that minimum pricing is the solution for tackling social or commercial problems.

"It would mean higher prices for all consumers and particularly for those on the lowest incomes, whilst doing nothing to address alcohol misuse."