Lillian8697
02/07/2009 15:20:31 |
According to the BBPA, "British beer drinkers pay over nine times the rate of duty as German consumers and seven times as much as the French...Across the 27 EU countries, only Finland and Ireland impose higher excise duty rates on beer than the UK. British beer lovers pay more in duty on a single UK pint, than the combined duty on five pints from each of the five other largest member states (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland)."
Ack! |
TyeDi
21/05/2009 01:39:48 |
This is just another example of state-sponsored babysitting. The govt is our nanny: holding our hand, telling us what to do and what not to do, punishing us for doing something that is strictly our own business. If I want to get ****ed on a Friday night, why should I have to pay more for it than the guy next to me who is going to go out the next day and eat four orders of greasy food? They're both equally destructive. |
Nick S.
21/05/2009 01:35:05 |
Clearly the issue here is those that cannot control their drink. If we didn't have irresponsibility then we wouldn't be in this situation. There needs to be a focus on personal responsibility and control, not taxing the life out of everyone. |
sallysgirl@
21/05/2009 01:32:11 |
What do u mean? |
Arthur W.
21/05/2009 01:24:11 |
And yet another reason why the govt has money to help the construction and flaky homeowners. |
Suzie Q.
21/05/2009 01:17:00 |
We're already seeing too few customers; raising prices again to cover this just won't do. |
A.B.
19/05/2009 02:14:52 |
Hear hear Sal! |
Mandee
19/05/2009 02:11:28 |
DrinkAware is a great group. I urge everyone in the alcohol industry to take part in this cause. Visit their websites, they have loads of incredible information and ideas to help make responsible drinking on a large scale possible. They aim at the younger crowds, but not in a preachy, old maid way ( at least I think) but also include information about alcohol in general. For instance, they are behind the proposal to end all you can drink buffets and create size and portion control in the alcohol served in bars and pubs. |
Trinni Moralez
19/05/2009 02:06:52 |
Another organisation along the lines of PubWatch is DrinkAware; they aim to reduce the instances of binge drinking without strangling the drinks industry.
http://www.drinkawaretrust.org.uk/
http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/ |
Smitty
19/05/2009 02:03:44 |
I've actually been in talks with my adviser about going a different route and getting out of the bar scene entirely. We've talked about converting to a non-alcoholic restaurant, a for-hire banquet center, or just selling the lot entirely. It makes me sad, but I don't see another way out. |
A.B.
19/05/2009 01:59:15 |
Thanks for posting the information about this organisation! |
JohnnyBoy
19/05/2009 01:58:18 |
The PubWatch association is a great cause. They help members stand up for what is socially responsible, creating a safer environment for all pubgoers. I think that if more industry professionals and owners were members of legions such as this one, we could make a serious change in our industry. |
Jenny Bean
19/05/2009 01:53:43 |
Is that something that is local, or can others from different areas join the network? |
A.B.
19/05/2009 01:50:24 |
How does that work for you? |
Joe Rocket
19/05/2009 00:50:16 |
Many places sponsor community outreach programs or are involved in some way with public awareness projects about alcohol problems, so it's not a lack of effort on our part. |
KarMie
19/05/2009 00:47:27 |
I'm not sure that it's something we have a say in anymore. It seems like a larger portion of the public is abusing alcohol (whether it be at home or in a bar) by binge drinking and the other portion of the public is disgusted with the other half, so they're not going to have anything positive to say or do with the industry. If public opinion were to change, maybe then the government would change. |
KellyP.
19/05/2009 00:37:33 |
What else can we do to stop this? It sounds like we have coping strategies to "weather out the storm," but is this totally out of our control? |
Leslie Andrews
19/05/2009 00:25:55 |
Technically, "It is an offence to sell alcohol to someone who is drunk."
http://www.essex.police.uk/advice/v_lic_03.php
So there... |
Shelly Beauford
19/05/2009 00:23:15 |
"Research shows that teaching young people to drink responsibly doesn't reduce the risk of problematic drinking later in life. In fact current research shows that we may be teaching them how to binge drink."
http://www.essex.police.uk/advice/v_lic_03.php
How can this be? |
JenniferB.
18/05/2009 23:02:34 |
I understand that the government thinks that the alcoholic industry is the root of all evil and Britain's binge drinking issue, and that's a large reason for all of the tax hikes and other deferments. What I want to know is why isn't there parallel consequences for those that consume aloholic beverages irresponsibly? It's not like the pub manager is forcing people through his doors, prying their jaws open, and pouring the pints down throats. If binge drinking is THAT much of a concern, why aren't there stricter laws regarding it? |
Leslie Andrews
18/05/2009 22:51:33 |
I can't really speak for anyone else, but I know that two of my employees are going to go back to school. |
Tom Dankins
18/05/2009 22:47:59 |
Well, I just can't help it. I hope they do get their come uppins! |
Tom Dankins
18/05/2009 21:55:58 |
I'm normally not a vindictive kind of person, but Im glad that the supermarkets are finally going to have to take some kind of hit. It's probably not going to matter much in the end, but at least they're going to have some kind of ripple in their ponds... |
Leslie Andrews
18/05/2009 21:53:32 |
Thanks  |
A.B.
18/05/2009 21:51:54 |
That sounds like a good strategy. Best of luck Leslie! |
Leslie Andrews
18/05/2009 21:51:14 |
I agree; we've had to ask our support staff to take the summer off. I don't know if we'll be able to take them back in the fall. Summer's usually fairly good to us, and we're hoping to recoup some costs and get back on our feet again over the next three months or so and then be able to get back to full operation. |
A.B.
18/05/2009 21:41:09 |
I have. Since the smoking ban things haven't been stellar, but I've laid of three of my six staff and raised my prices about eight months ago. I'm doing probably 50% of what I did four years ago. |
A.B.
18/05/2009 21:39:03 |
Things are bad at my place, but if I raise my prices again I don't know if I'll be able to stay open much longer. |
Dunc
09/05/2009 21:40:44 |
Darling Reveals Next Phase of Alcohol Duties.
Alistair Darling announced last week that the government’s slated 2% rate hike in alcohol duties will indeed be carried out, translating into a 5p increase in pub pints for consumers. This go-ahead is one more piece of track laid down for the freight train of British alcohol tax hikes as it chugs its way up an endless mountain of increases.
This raise, slated to continue for the next three years, places the British alcohol industry in ever higher pecuniary uncertainty. Mark Hastings, director of communications for the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA): "Today's budget signs the death warrant for thousands of Britain's pubs and for tens of thousands of British jobs. Pubs play a vital role in the economy and in local communities. Yet six are closing every day and more than 2,000 have gone in the last 12 months alone. The chancellor's unfair and unjustified announcement today condemns thousands more to shut for good." It seems that the government is trying to do all that it can to slowly squeeze the viability out of what’s left of this industry and ignore the voices of business owners and patrons alike with this move. In these globally challenging financial times, this move has placed more than 75,000 jobs in jeopardy, on top of those already lost from daily pub and bar closings around the country.
This rate hike will affect not only pubs and bars, but also the supermarket alcohol sold in discount stores. The difference here is that this increase can be absorbed by the market chains through the retail sales of their other goods; with bars and pubs that absorption is not so easily achieved, and the main method, unfortunately, for bars and pubs to make up that loss is to raise their prices; with patron levels at all time lows and closures making the daily news that is something that many are just not able or willing to do. It seems that at this point the only thing this industry can do is realize that they are not going down without a fight. By continuing to use their voices establishment owners, landlords, consumers, and other industry members will be able, when the dust finally settles, to know that they did everything they could to save their livelihoods and salvage an integral part of Britain’s economy and history. What else can they do? |