Vince Cable offers hope on licensing reform
Business secretary Vince Cable has given the industry hope the government could water down its controversial plans to overhaul the licensing regime.
The Lib Dem was one of the first ministers to respond to an industry-wide campaign urging the coalition to reconsider what many argue is an attack on pubs.
In a letter to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) - which is co-ordinating the campaign - Cable described pubs as a "sociable and economically important industry".
He goes on to say the views expressed in the letter to him - which has been signed by 45 industry leaders - "will be considered carefully before decisions are taken".
Cable also said the final proposals will be "balanced and proportionate".
The response will encourage the trade in its campaign against radical Home Office proposals to overhaul the licensing laws.
Plans include a range of measures designed to deal with alcohol-related crime and disorder.
This includes a levy on pubs that stay open late, giving more powers to local authorities and health bodies, allowing residents a greater say on premises applications, and changing the licensing appeals process.
The ALMR has written to all cabinet ministers and opposition spokesmen raising its concerns. As The Publican went to press, Cable and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) were the only respondents.
DEFRA's letter stated that it recognises the importance of pubs to the UK economy and it has "no desire to accelerate pub closures or place unnecessary burdens on business".
The measures will not be targeted at responsible operators, it adds.
The ALMR is currently halfway towards its £30,000 funding target to up its campaign ahead of the measures being published as part of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. A Home Office spokesman said the Bill is likely to published by the start of December.
Licensees and other workers throughout the trade are also being invited to write to their constituent MPs to raise the issue.
While the Home Office has yet to respond directly, Kate Nicholls, the ALMR's head of communications, said the group has been in face-to-face talks with the minister overseeing the plans, James Brokenshire.
"The responses so far are encouraging as they clearly understand our concerns," she said.
"We need to build the pressure on the Home Office and the best way of doing that is people writing to their constituency MPs who will then write to the Home Office and show the weight of feeling out there."
The industry had further reason to be encouraged this week when Prime Minister David Cameron said the coalition would be a "pub-friendly government".
In response to a question from Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland at Prime Minister's Questions last week, he said: "I'm a big supporter of British pubs. I want us to be a pub-friendly government."
