Policing and Crime Bill
4:00 pm
Don Shenker: To start with, I would like to say that we are broadly in favour of the Bill and are very much in favour of the introduction of a mandatory code—or enabling powers for a mandatory code. As all the speakers have said, the point of having the enabling power is that there can be some consultation on what would be the most useful elements to have under national conditions—category A—and which would be local. They have to be proportionate to countering the level of harm that we have seen in both the on-trade and with some of the loss leading and deep discounting through the off-trade. Clearly, the evidence shows that to try to tackle price, it would be far more effective to do so on a national level. Even sectors of the industry would say that if you are going to do anything about price, it is easier to manage it on a national level rather than locality by locality. I will defer to my colleagues perhaps to argue something different.
Certainly, some of the more ridiculous price offers have to be tackled—for example, where women can come in free between 10pm and 2am, or can have free vodka all night. Some of those promotions, which we have seen in different localities, have to be tackled. The question is whether to tackle them on a national level, by having a ban on happy hours throughout, or whether to leave them to local decision making. After consultation, we will get greater understanding of those issues. At Alcohol Concern, we do not have a definite view yet as to what the absolute national or local conditions should be. We are very keen that price is tackled, both in the on and off-trade. We are keen, too, that price promotions of the type that I have mentioned are dealt with. However, it is clear that many premises act responsibly, and they should not be burdened too much with a national condition. We have to find the right balance, in short.