The Conservative Party is proposing to swap the system of using units to tell consumers how much alcohol drinks contain for one focused on the metric volume of alcohol and calorie content.
The party plans to negotiate a voluntary agreement with the drinks industry should it come to power this year, as part of its health manifesto laid out by shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley.
The relaxing of product placement rules for television could undermine controls on alcohol marketing in the UK, according to the Portman Group.
Government plans to outlaw ‘all-you-can-drink’ offers, and more Licensees are facing the prospect of another new raft of tough measures after government plans for a new mandatory code of practice for the drinks industry were confirmed today.
A ban on ‘all-you-can-drink’ promotions and offers that only apply to certain groups, such as women, are among the proposals included in the Policing and Crime Bill unveiled in the Queen’s Speech. This is in addition to a new £4.5m crackdown on alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder. Other potential measures include forcing pubs to have the minimum sized glasses available for those who want them, making sure customers see the unit content of all drinks they buy and checking staff are properly trained. But there is no direct mention of a ban on happy hours.
The age at which people can buy alcohol in Scotland is to be raised to 21 in an effort to curb binge-drinking. The Scottish government has also announced plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol and to ban buy-one-get-one-free drink promotions in supermarkets to discourage drinking and to cut anti-social behaviour.
Source: Sunday Times 15-06-2008
New legislation from the government will force pubs, clubs and even supermarkets to pay for extra police in areas highly affected by alcohol-fuelled yob culture. Alcohol-related violence costs Britain around £7.3 billion a year.
Source: Daily Mirror 05-06-2008
An update from the Institute of Sales Promotion on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and its implementation into UK law as new Regulations on May 26th
As reported in previous ISP legal bulletins, the ISP is of the view that, on a strict interpretation of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations which come into force on May 26th, 2008, there are severe limitations on the use of the word “free”.
With the Government preparing to transpose the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to UK, Philip Circus, the ISP’s director of legal services, explains how this is likely to impact on sales promotion.
Members may have heard that there will be major restrictions on the use of the word “free” in marketing. This will come about as a result of the implementation in the UK of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. The Regulations to implement the Directive in the UK were, we understand, being laid before Parliament today (March 3). We also understand that the implementation date has now been put back from April 6th to May 26th.
The latest edition of the Portman Group’s Code containing two new alcohol marketing rules has come into effect.
The Conservative Party claim guidance for tax inspectors reveals plans to impose higher business rates on pubs that back activities like quizzes and darts. The plans from the Valuation Office Agency, a division of the Inland Revenue, will be finalised in 2009 and take effect in 2010.
Guidance on calculating rates for pubs advises inspectors to record whether the pub appears “friendly and popular”. They must also log pool and darts facilities along with details of beer gardens, play areas, bowling greens, TV facilities, quiz nights and football teams.