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BREWERS have issued fresh calls for chancellor George Osborne to scrap the alcohol duty escalator in next month’s Budget, claiming it is pushing the price of a pint out of reach for many people. The beer firms say the annual 2% above the rate of inflation increase, brought in by the previous government in 2008 and continued under the coalition, is hampering growth in the sector and contributing to pub closures and job losses.

A CAMPAIGN to levy a tax on sugary drinks is another example of the licensed trade being treated as a “cash cow”, according to one of the UK’s biggest pub chains. JD Wetherspoon says proposals put forward by the charity Sustain would heap pressure on an industry already paying more than its fair share to the Treasury. More than 60 organisations, including Friends of the Earth, the Scottish Cancer Prevention Network and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, have backed a report calling on the government to implement the tax at the next Budget.

HUNDREDS of small and medium-sized enterprises around the UK, including Scottish hospitality businesses, may be in line for compensation from their banks after an initial probe by the City regulator found widespread mis-selling of products designed to protect businesses from fluctuations in interest rates. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced last July it planned to investigate what it said were “serious failings in the sale of IRHPs” (interest rate hedging products).

BREWERS have unveiled their wholesale beer price increases for 2013 – leaving operators in a dilemma over whether to put up prices at a traditionally quiet time of year for the trade. Molson Coors and Carlsberg were the first of the major brewers to put through wholesale price increases for the new year. The Carling owner broke first, upping its prices by an average of 3.1% (equal to £15 on a barrel, or 5p on a pint, of Carling) from January 14, followed by Carlsberg, which added 5p a pint to its wholesale beer prices on Monday (January 21).

TALKS are at an advanced stage to bring back a National Licensing Forum in Scotland, in a move designed to give all stakeholders an equal share in the future direction of alcohol policy. Justice minister Kenny MacAskill confirmed in an exclusive interview with SLTN last week that the Scottish Government Alcohol Industry Partnership, whose members include drinks firms, trade groups and health interests, was talking to interested parties about who will sit on the body and appointing a neutral chairman.

A LONG-standing campaigner for pubco reform welcomed the move by business secretary Vince Cable last week to make the country’s biggest landlords accountable to government in their relationships with tenants, saying it could signal a brighter future for hard-pressed leaseholders in Scotland. Cable surprised industry watchers when he announced that the Coalition would consult on putting the code of practice that sets out the pubco-tenant relationship on a statutory footing in the spring. The Lib Dem minister also confirmed plans to appoint an independent adjudicator to address unfair practices in the industry.

SCOTTISH Government plans to stop members’ clubs abusing the licensing system have been welcomed by the trade. The Further Options for Alcohol Licensing consultation, launched before Christmas, has seen ministers respond to long-held concerns from operators that some clubs are “abusing either the letter or the spirit of the rules by operating in direct competition with local licensed premises” – despite enjoying certain privileges and not being subject to the same restrictions as mainstream pubs.

THE Scottish Government has come under fire from two of the country’s most respected legal minds over fresh plans to reform Scotland’s licensing laws. Ministers stunned the trade by launching a new consultation on alcohol licensing less than a week before Christmas. The proposals mark the third significant review of the licensing system since the 2005 Act came into effect in 2009. But, far from improving the system for operators, two leading licensing solicitors claim the proposals reflect almost exclusively the lobbying priorities of health groups, police and licensing boards.

HARVIESTOUN Brewery is to extend its range of craft beers and launch a new 33cl bottle size under a major expansion drive. The Alva-based brewery, which recently doubled the size of its warehouse and office space, was set to bottle the first batches of 4.2% ABV Bitter & Twisted and Schiehallion, which has an ABV of 4.8%, in 330ml format as SLTN went to press. The beers are already available in a 500ml bottle size and in cask and craft keg formats. Harviestoun MD Chris Miller told SLTN the new bottle size is being introduced with food-led pubs and specialist independent off-trade retailers in mind.

STRATHCLYDE Police is calling on operators and door stewards to be extra vigilant for vulnerable revellers leaving their premises this festive season. Speaking to SLTN last week, chief superintendent George Nedley urged staff working in bars and clubs to “consider their social responsibilities as well as those under the licensing Act”.