Government - Hospitality

Council-trade hostility turns to open conflict

21-Apr-2005

So the first shots in the forthcoming conflict between local authorities and the licensed trade have been fired. Some might say before, rather than...

No one could deny that the Government is desperate to clean

07-Apr-2005

Of course bar staff shouldn't serve under-18s, and most don't. But every licensee would have a better chance of spotting the under-agers if...

Police chiefs opposed to alcohol disorder zones

24-Mar-2005

by Ewan Turney The Government's policy for combating alcohol-fuelled disorder appears to be in tatters after the Association of Chief Police...

Bath: we want more powers'

03-Mar-2005

by John Harrington Councillors in Bath are making their own bid to persuade the Government to give local authorities greater powers over licensing...

Alcohol disorder zones won't halt bingeing'

17-Feb-2005

Government to be told that ADZs are unfair and miss the target by Tony Halstead Trade groups are to tell the Government that proposed new alcohol...

It's war on under-aged: Blears

27-Jan-2005

The Government has declared war on under-age drinking after the Christmas blitz revealed that almost one-third of targeted licensed premises were...

DCMS deals variation fee price hike

27-Jan-2005

So, the local authorities have decisively won the argument on fee levels. They have persuaded the Government to boost their income direct from the...

Licensing Act delay on the cards?

06-Jan-2005

Is the Government going to be forced to postpone the First Appointed Day for licence transition? It is set for 7 February, which is exactly a month...

Don't let them take the heart of our community'

16-Dec-2004

I write to express my very real concerns over the Government proposals for a smoke ban in pubs that serve food. I wonder what would happen if they...

Act won't make late events easier

16-Dec-2004

Much play was made by the Government at the beginning of this licensing revolution of the benefits to be gained from the abolition of permitted...

Let the smoke clear

09-Dec-2004

As an industry we seem to be reacting to the Government's decision on smoking in two ways: doom and gloom or with a sigh of relief. I can understand...

M&B warns smoking ban is a threat to health

02-Dec-2004

Mitchells & Butlers has warned that the Government's proposed smoking ban could lead to unhealthy consequences for the nation.The...

16,000 pubs will have to stop serving food

25-Nov-2004

BBPA claims nearly one in three pubs will become drinking dens by Ewan Turney The Government's smoking ban proposals will force 16,000 pubs ...

What the Sunday papers said

22-Nov-2004

Everyone knows smoking kills. But what no one considered was that Government plans to help the quarter of the population who smoke to quit could...

The winners and the losers

18-Nov-2004

Rob McKenna White Swan, Bedworth, Warwickshire "I would definitely drop the food I serve and remain a smoking pub. The food is not a large part of...

Fury over smoking decision

16-Nov-2004

The pub industry has reacted with fury to today's announcement of a partial smoking ban.Under proposals detailed today in the White Paper on public...

Government hears Diageo research

14-Oct-2004

Diageo has been supplying the Government with marketing information that could be used to create ad campaigns aimed at cutting binge drinking. But...

The new Licensing Act: still seeing red tape

23-Sep-2004

With the publication of the draft Regulations and Regulatory Impact Assessment last week, the Government has proved once and for all that the new...

Pubs unclear on DDA legislation

23-Sep-2004

Licensees have slammed the government for failing to provide effective guidelines on the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which comes into force...

Legal advice: Gambling Bill on its way

02-Jul-2004

Now the government has responded to it, the draft Gambling Bill could be pushed through Parliament as early as the end of this year.By David Clifton...

Legal advice: Is the Licensing Act friend or foe?

23-Jun-2004

The jury is still out on the effects of changes to licensing and whether legislators have grasped the industry's concerns.By David Clifton of...

Government talks on smoking ban fail to allay trade fears

06-May-2004

Hopes of avoiding an outright ban on smoking were still hanging in the balance following an industry summit yesterday.The Charter Group and industry...

Council to raise tax to cover cost of licensing regime

22-Apr-2004

Camden Council plans to cover the cost of new licensing administration by asking residents to cough up.The controversial plan puts the council on a...

Council calls for sanity over transition timing

08-Apr-2004

by MA Reporter Westminster City Council has called on the Government to "use some common sense" and commit to realistic dates for the transition to...

Hosts should not bear the brunt of binge-drinking

25-Mar-2004

Having read about the Government's new initiative of curbing binge-drinking, several thoughts came to mind. It seems that it has now finished...

Legal advice: Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy

23-Mar-2004

At the core of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy is the desire to change the attitude that in order to have a good night out you need to be drunk....

Last chance to get it right

18-Mar-2004

If ever the phrase "drinking in the Last Chance saloon" really meant something, then it does for the trade today. The Government, in its new Alcohol...

Licensing minister hits out at his critics

26-Feb-2004

Richard Caborn, the minister responsible for licensing, has refuted claims that he has failed to speak to the trade about licensing. In an exclusive...

Last reform benefit may be under threat

19-Feb-2004

Just two weeks' ago I wrote about the fact that local authority policy documents were seeking to re-establish permitted hours in their locality in...

Licensing Act delayed again

04-Dec-2003

The government has failed to keep its promise on the implementation of the new Licensing Act.The trade is still waiting for the guidance and fees to...

RENT POLIcies under attack

27-Nov-2003

by Claire Hu The Government is threatening to introduce legislation banning the upward-only rent reviews that are contained in many pub leases after...

Councils just as frustrated

20-Nov-2003

I note with interest in last week's edition of the Morning Advertiser several references to concerns within the licensed industry about the...

'No excuses' on disabled access

06-Nov-2003

Pubs will have no excuses if they fail to take all reasonable measures to make themselves accessible to disabled people by October 2004, a government...

Personal licences syllabus published

07-Aug-2003

The Government has published the syllabus for the qualification that all new personal licence applicants must hold under the rules of the new...

Bish: government has deserted Smoking Charter

31-Jul-2003

A leading trade body has blasted the government for its lack of support for the industry's Smoking Charter.Nick Bish, chairman of the Charter Group,...

Reform: it'll be a long and winding road...

24-Jul-2003

As expected, the Government has been compelled to relax the tight timetable on implementing the new Licensing Act. It is now unlikely to start before...

Minister writes to government over stamp duty concerns

22-Jul-2003

The on-going saga of stamp duty reform took another twist this week when shadow financial secretary to the Treasury Mark Prisk MP wrote to the...

Licensing Bill still far from finished

10-Jul-2003

Baroness Buscombe, who led the Tory opposition to aspects of the new Licensing Bill in the House of Lords, said she was "ready for a fight". Well,...

Trade blow as new bill is pushed through

19-Jun-2003

The government has completely disregarded the industry's concerns over the biggest changes to licensing since the First World War.Industry bodies...

Reform's changeover sums just don't add up

27-Mar-2003

Policy-makers in Government are not always very good at sums. Ever since the White Paper on licensing reform was published way back in April 2000,...

The days of smoke-filled pubs are well and truly numbered

06-Feb-2003

At the same time, research undertaken for the Greater London Assembly suggested up to 1,000 Londoners died each year from the effects of passive...

Smoking charter is put to the test

23-Jan-2003

by MA Reporter Vital research is under way to check whether the Charter on Smoking in Public Places has worked in the pub industry. This joint...

What the Sunday papers said

20-Jan-2003

The Sunday TimesTHOUSANDS of asylum seekers are to be housed in country hotels and mansions being bought by property firms working for the Home...

No room for manoeuvre given size of policy gap

19-Dec-2002

I have been engaged in a fascinating exercise during the past week. I have been comparing the Government's approach to licensing policy with that of...

Real reasons

21-Nov-2002

behind reform It does seem that despite the overwhelming tide of concern and opposition to this Government's proposal to reform liquor licensing, it...

Government says no to duty cut

24-Oct-2002

The government says it has no intention of cutting duty on beer despite public support for an end to its current efforts to tackle the rising tide of...

Licensing reform will cost licensees more, says Neame

04-Oct-2002

Kill the Bill campaigner Stuart Neame has accused the government of fiddling the figures over licensing reform. Stuart Neame, vice chairman of Kent...