Feb
08
A BAR and nightclub entrepreneur has called for the proposed minimum price for alcohol to be doubled to between 80p and £1 a unit.
Paul Smith, whose Castle Leisure Group includes City venues in Edinburgh, Perth and Falkirk, said the suggested price of 40p must be radically increased if the controversial scheme is to have an impact on off-trade prices.
Smith claims setting a minimum unit price of between 80p and £1 would have little or no effect on prices charged by bar, restaurant and nightclub operators but would lift the floor price of some products in the off-trade. At a unit price of £1, a pint of standard lager would have a minimum retail price of £2.30, according to Smith, who said his company charges an average of £2.80 across its estate. A 25ml measure of vodka at £1 a unit would retail at a minimum of 90p; and, he said, a 125ml glass of wine would have to be sold for no less than £1.50.
Smith said an earlier trade backed pricing policy enforced across the Perth and Kinross board’s jurisdiction between 2002 and 2004, which set a minimum price of £1.50 for a 25ml measure of spirits and £1 for a pint of standard lager, lifted prices higher than the proposed 40p a unit price would.
“If minimum pricing is to have real meaning then I think it needs to be set closer to the 80p to £1 mark,” Smith told SLTN. “Even at that it would hardly, if at all, lift the floor price in the on-trade and only lift it slightly in the off-trade. But it would lift the price of those products in the off-trade that are frequently sold cheaper than water.
“I think a higher unit price will have the desired effect but I am cautious about who is handed the power to set it. If it’s the government, it could be set for political reasons; and if it’s licensing boards we could end up with a patchwork effect. I think there should be a central commission, taking advice from the industry and other representatives, to set and monitor price.”
Smith’s calls for a higher minimum price, part of CLG’s submission to the consultation on the Alcohol (Scotland) Bill, which ended on January 20, come after Tenant Caledonian Breweries reiterated its support for minimum pricing under its new parent company. TCB, which was owned by brewing giant A-B InBev when it first pledged its support for the scheme last April, is continuing to support the proposal under new owner, Dublin-based C&C Group.
“Tennent’s supports the proposals to introduce minimum pricing so long as the measures proposed are fair, proportionate and part of an overall programme to reduce the abuse of alcohol,” said TCB boss Mike Lees.
Carling owner Molson Coors also voiced its support for minimum pricing early last year. However, other brewers, including Guinness owner Diageo, SABMiller, and Heineken UK, which supports the BBPA’s stance, remain opposed to the proposal.
By Gillian McKenzie, Published in SLTN News on Feb 4th, 2010