Pubs caught in underage stings should be forced to offer extra training

Pubs caught selling to children should be forced to offer extra training to staff instead of facing a business-threatening £20,000 fine, a trade chief has argued.

Brigid Simmonds, the British Beer & Pub Association's chief executive, said she was not aware of anyone who had been fined the current maximum of £10,000 - and doubling this would be an unnecessary.

Addressing MPs at a joint parliamentary Beer Group and Save the Pub Group meeting on the licensing changes yesterday, she said: "If you are increasing the fine to £20,000, there has to be an intent to sell, not just because you fail two test purchases.

"Local authorities would be better off enforcing training orders on pubs."

Earlier, Simmonds said she was "very pleased" the Home Office had listened on some issues around the proposed changes to the licensing regime.

But she raised concerns over early morning restriction orders, saying they could hit responsible operators, and called for a cap on licensing fees.

And on the late-night levy, she questioned how pubs would be treated that have permission to trade after midnight but choose not to. "There's a real concern about how that will be enforced," she said.

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said he understood communities should have a greater input on licensing decisions, but added: "The problems are overstated - and the solutions are ill-thought through."

He also hit out at the lack of action on "pocket-money" supermarket prices. "It will leave the supply of cheap alcohol untouched," he said.

Mike Benner, chief executive of CAMRA, said he was disappointed the government was "dragging its feet" on a below-cost ban, which has been left out of the licensing proposals.

He also said it was vital there was a "proper debate" on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill before it is passed.

And Sue Cacioppo, Wetherspoons' personnel and legal director, called for "fairness, balance and pragmatism" in the licensing changes. She also urged "transparency" over how money from the late-night levy would be spent.

"Operators need certainty it is not an additional tax for police and councils to go into a general pot of spending," she said.