APPENDIX 11
Memorandum from Laura Sinfield
THE VARYING
COST OF
SOFT DRINKS
I would like to contribute the following, based
on my experiences in Edinburgh in the last year.
I find that most pubs charge around 80p for
a glass (about a 1/2 pint) of branded soft-drink, such as Diet-coke,
and slightly less for a glass of non-branded soft-drink, such
as lime & soda. I don't even bother trying to drink orange-juice
and lemonade, since the prices are ludicrous. As a young women
who has had a drink problem in the past, I frequently choose to
take my car along on an evening out. This both helps me to stay
totally sober, and also helps stop the many people trying to persuade
me to "have a real drink". It is also safer, in terms
of personal safety.
However, I have at various times had the experience
of being charged the following:
— £1.09 for a glass of Diet-coke
("Doctor's", Lauriston Place, Edinburgh)
— £1.80 for a glass of lime &
soda ("Canny Man's", Morningside Road, Edinburgh), albeit
with a nice swizzle-stick and slice of fresh lime.
— and in one astounding instance, being
charged £2.10 for my pint-glass of lime & soda, but only
£2.00 for my friend's pint of cider ("The Three Sisters",
Cowgate, Edinburgh). This most certainly does not help encourage
sensible alcohol drinking, nor does it help prevent drink driving.
Pubs which are around the acceptable price-level
for soft drinks range from city-centre pubs such as the Holyrood
Tavern (80p/glass) or the Three Quarters (a very good £1.20/large-glass),
to rural pubs in tiny villages such as the Allan Ramsey in Carlops
(80p/glass) or the Romanno Bridge Inn (75p/330ml can), to my local
Boroughmuir rugby club (60p/330ml can) and rugby clubs in the
borders such as Galashiels and Hawick (both 80p/glass) and pubs
in borders towns such as the King's Arms in Melrose (£1.30-ish/pint-glass).
Even in some nightclubs such as the Subway (Cowgate, Edinburgh)
charge only £1.00 for a 330ml can.
There is thus obviously no real justification
for expensive soft drinks, such as higher transport costs in rural
areas, higher business-rates charges in the city-centre, etc.
The pubs mentioned above are simply making the maximum profit
at the expense of the soft-drinker. There may be some excuse with
branded soft drinks, since they have to be purchased from a supplier,
but there can be no excuse at all for charging more than two pounds
for a pint glass of lime & soda.
One final observation—when I lived in
Sydney, Australia, in 1987-88 there was a policy in almost every
pub and nightclub that lime & water by the large glass was
completely free. You might consider encouraging this practice
here.
I hope that part of your examination of the
Drinks Industry in Scotland may not just recommend, but enforce,
changes in the pricing of soft drinks in pubs and clubs.
Laura Sinfield
November 2000
|
