Spirits giant Diageo is backing the government’s plans to impose a code of practice on the drinks trade to cut down on price promotions in both the pub and supermarket.
But, the company does not believe there is necessarily a link between drinks promotions and alcohol-related anti-social behaviour.
A Diageo spokesman said: “We fully support the government in pursuing a mandatory code to tackle irresponsible alcohol promotions and we welcome the new enforcement levels proposed.
“Diageo believes that industry and government should work together to eradicate bad promotions, whether they are run in shops, supermarkets, clubs, bars or pubs.
“We recognise that the good work of the majority in industry is undermined by the conduct of a minority. We firmly believe that such irresponsible promotions are best dealt with through co-regulation, providing a framework for enforcement to root out bad practice.
“Measures that raise the standard of responsible behaviour, including that of the individual, are also to be welcomed,” he said.
“Government needs to be explicitly clear about what is and what isn’t acceptable for local licensing authorities and work with Industry to ensure that standards are understood and fully introduced. Where there are failings in implementation, they should be swiftly and appropriately dealt with through the Licensing Act.
“We remain concerned that that there is a risk of either sporadic enforcement or lack of clear and consistent guidance on implementation, both of which could result in a patchwork quilt of promotions up and down the country.
“We need time to examine the findings of the ScHARR review as we do not believe there is a causal link between the price of alcohol and alcohol related harm. Furthermore, it would have been helpful to have had sight of these during the consultation for Safe, Sensible, Social,” he added.
A ban on ‘all you can drink’ promotions in pubs and bars was announced on Wednesday by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Health Secretary Alan Johnson as part of a £4.5m crackdown on “alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder”.
The government plans to introduce a new mandatory code of practice to target the most irresponsible retail practices.
Some of the measures being considered include banning offers like ‘all you can drink for £10′, outlawing promotions to certain groups, such as women only, not requiring customers to buy very large amounts of alcohol in the supermarket to take advantage of price discounts and making sure consumers can see the unit content of alcohol purchases
The government will spend £3m targeting specific alcohol-related problems in 190 areas.
A further £1.5m will go to ‘priority areas’, to help them deal with under-age sales and confiscation of alcohol from minors. It will also fund public campaigns to let people know what action is being taken to reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder in their area.
Jacqui Smith said: “There is no simple solution to tackling this problem – we all have a responsibility to tackle the binge drinking culture. I look forward to seeing the results of our £4.5m crackdown on alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder.”
Mike Dennis
