Trade body hits out at government's 'softly, softly' supermarket approach

A leading trade body has urged the government to push for supermarkets to take more responsibility for their pricing strategy.

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) made the demand following the publication of the white paper on public health, which included plans to give councils more powers to encourage people to cut back on drinking.

In it the government said that the paper, 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People', was a "radical shift in the way we tackle public health challenges", and hoped to promote socially responsible retailing and consumption of alcohol through the new approach, saving the NHS £2.7 billion in costs on alcohol abuse.

However ALMR chief executive Nick Bish wants a more aggressive approach towards off-trade retailers.

He said: "The government simply cannot afford to take the same 'softly, softly' approach to irresponsible retailers. Failure to tackle the pocket money prices which fuel irresponsible consumption remains the major gap in the policy framework."

He criticised the paper for failing to implement a ban on below-cost sales. Bish went on: "Until we get that, the white paper's rhetoric will remain an empty aspiration rather than a deliverable reality."

The paper revealed that nearly half of all violent crime in the country last year was alcohol related, and that "communities are fighting a constant and expensive battle against alcohol related crime".

But Bish urged the government to recognise the responsibility that on-trade retailers have already taken. He said: "Pubs provide a well-regulated environment in which the sale and consumption of alcohol can be supervised and a framework within which informed consumer choice can be delivered."

Councils will be allocated part of the national public health budget worth £4bn to help tackle problems such as obesity, smoking and excessive drinking, starting in 2013.