49. Memorandum submitted by the Wine
and Spirit Association
I am writing on behalf of the Wine and Spirit
Association (WSA) in relation to your Committee's inquiry into
Anti-social Behaviour. If the Committee were to expand its remit
to any possible link between alcohol and anti-social behaviour,
the WSA would be happy to appear to give evidence.
The WSA represents over 200 members involved
in the UK wine and spirit industry including producers, importers,
brand owners and retailers. Although your inquiry is dealing with
anti-social behaviour rather than alcohol issues, the WSA and
its members have been involved in a number of initiatives recently
that tackle alcohol-related harm and feel we could make a useful
contribution to your deliberations. The WSA is keen to ensure
the alcohol trade takes a positive and visible role in tackling
alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and believe we have made
significant advances in recent years.
The WSA have worked on a number of issues that
touch your inquiry, short summaries of which are reviewed below:
— In conjunction with the Association
of Convenience Stores and the British Retail Consortium we have
recently launched guidance for the off-trade in promoting responsible
retailing. This provides retailers with the tools to actively
promote sensible drinking. Our paper has been welcomed by the
Licensing Minister, Richard Caborn, as "a real commitment
from the industry to promote corporate and social responsibility
. . . and it has my full support."
— The WSA has long campaigned for a
national proof of age card. Our concern is that in their pursuit
of a National ID Card, the Government has sidelined proof-of-age
suggestions. The Association believes that lead time for a National
ID Card is too long to address the immediate need and furthermore,
a strong government campaign on a "No ID, No Sale" theme
is lacking.
— The danger of large tax differentials
is the incentive they provide to criminal gangs to import goods
which are then not retailed through responsible outlets. Smuggled
goods are more likely to end up in the hands of underage drinkers.
We are concerned that calls for increased taxes or minimum price
schemes, besides being illegal, will simply fuel smugglers profits.
In addition, questions remain over the legality of minimum pricing
measures. The wine and spirit sector are already a significant
contributor to tax revenue, therefore the WSA believes the sector
should not be penalised through additional levies.
— An additional criticism of minimum
pricing is that it penalises those who drink sensibly. Those participating
in anti-social behaviour are less likely to respond to increasing
prices by decreasing consumption.
— The Association welcomes this summer's
crackdown on irresponsible drinking, although we dispute the message
suggested by headline figures that a third of all off-licenses
were caught selling to under-18s. Whilst we accept that this figure
is still too high it is important to note that the vast majority
of these offences came from targeted sting operations carried
out against known problem retailers. The police visited 7,153
off licences in total and at only 4% of these an offence was found
to have been committed. We would like to stress that the WSA does
support the Government in making every effort to tackle irresponsible
retailers.
— The off-trade has sought help from
the police and local authorities to tackle gangs who congregate
near retail premises late at night. There was a suggestion in
the Licensing Act Guidance to Local Authorities that such groups
be tackled through the closure or restriction of licensable activity
in the afflicted premises. However we found this recommendation
to be remarkable in its short-sightedness. Premises already suffering
from groups intimidating prospective customers would be further
penalised by having revenue streams restricted. We believe that
such a move would lead to further economic downturn in such areas,
in all probability exacerbating any problems of anti-social behaviour.
Vibrant mixed retail development has been shown to be an integral
part of economic regeneration and subsequent tackling of anti-social
behaviour.
— On licensing regulations, the WSA
believes that the granting of new licenses, rather than capping
the number, is important in order to prevent degradation due to
lack of competition.
— Anti-social behaviour can best be
tackled through self-regulation and responsible retailing. The
Portman Group is ideally placed as the engine of self-regulation,
especially if strengthened by the full participation of the industry.
We feel it is necessary to allow sufficient time for the strategy
unit's proposals to be implemented and produce results, rather
than moving too quickly to further initiatives.
The WSA recognises that alcohol does not form
part of the Government's White Paper on tackling anti-social behaviour.
We believe that this is the correct position, as the issues outlined
above are most effectively tackled through the process laid out
under the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy and ongoing reform of
the Licensing system. However, should you choose to expand your
inquiry to include alcohol related issues, I would be happy to
appear before the committee to give further evidence.
1 October 2004
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