SNP accused of drink crackdown by stealth

Published on Sunday 30 August 2009 22:42

MINISTERS have been accused of making changes to alcohol laws "by stealth" after it emerged that new legislation aimed at tackling binge drinking can apply to off-licences.

The SNP government has quietly dumped official guidance which stated that the new restrictions should apply only to pubs and clubs.

Instead, ministers say new local licensing boards can also use the laws to act against supermarkets and off-licences if they so wish. Boards in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee have all said they may now act against supermarkets which sell BOGOF deals – buy-one-get-one-free – claiming that they lead to binge drinking among the young.

One licensing board chief claimed the BOGOF deals were "disgraceful", saying there was evidence teenagers were no longer going out to pubs but instead booking up hotel suites where they could down cut-price drink from major stores.

But retailers say that the decision by ministers to pass the buck to local boards is a recipe for confusion which could see cheap supermarket deals banned in some parts of the country, only to be allowed in others.

The Licensing Act (Scotland) 2005 Act was passed by the previous administration, and will become law later this week. The new laws will give people more say over whether pubs and clubs should be opened in their area, restrict so-called happy hours, and bar people from buying drink in stores until 10am.

When the act was published, the Scottish Government issued guidance on how the new laws on irresponsible promotions should be interpreted.

It stated: "Ministers do not believe that this policy (restrictions on irresponsible promotions] can presently be generally extended to off-sales promotions in the absence of any concrete evidence to suggest that purchasing a large quantity of alcohol in an off-licence is linked to immediate consumption and to binge drinking."

However, asked whether that policy still applies, officials have passed the buck to local licensing boards. A spokeswoman said: "The act passed by parliament in 2005 applies some promotion bans to off-sales premises as well as on-sales.

"It is entirely a matter for licensing boards to decide what is appropriate in their area."

In Edinburgh, licensing board chiefs said earlier this month that they would consider banning buy-one-get-one-free deals.

Both Glasgow and Dundee are considering the move as well.

Stephen Dornan, the chair of Glasgow's licensing board, said that the BOGOF offers were "a disgraceful way to run a business". He added: "We don't see any difference between off sales and on sales. If it is irresponsible, it is irresponsible. Nobody should be getting away with this, least of all Tesco and Asda."