News

Small Shops Call for UK Wide Approach to Alcohol Pricing

2 September 2010

Commenting on the announcement made today by the Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, that the minimum price for alcohol will be 45 pence per unit, John Drummond, Chief Executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) said,

“A minimum price for alcohol of 45 pence per unit, if introduced, would stop the irresponsible selling of alcohol below cost carried out by large supermarkets and help to level the playing field between small shops and the multiples. However, we are concerned minimum pricing could lead to unintended consequences including cross border shopping, the growth of illicit sales of alcohol and an increase in alcohol sales via the internet.

“There is no doubt Scotland has a challenging relationship with alcohol which must be addressed. SGF would prefer a UK wide approach which would set a floor price that includes the cost of production, duty and VAT, below which alcohol could not be sold. This would avoid the potential issues linked to minimum pricing.”

Licensing Act 2005 Fails to Tackle Problem Drinking Whilst Threatening to Damage Future of Small Shops

1 September 2010

On the first anniversary of the full implementation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) continues to reiterate its concerns that operating different licensing regimes across the country, often with different fee structures and conditions, has resulted in needless costs, additional regulations and delays for small shops, whilst failing to address the issues surrounding binge and chronic drinking in Scotland.

John Drummond, Chief Executive of SGF said:

“We believe the Licensing (Scotland) Act has failed to address the societal issues covered by the five licensing objectives whilst placing far too much focus on bureaucracy around licensing in terms of operation plans, layout plans and signage, which retailers must comply with in order to sell alcohol.

“SGF estimate complying with the Act has cost the convenience store sector in Scotland over £16 million and will increase as retailers apply for minor and major variations to their licenses. The cost of variations currently differs significantly from Board to Board and at best can be described as arbitrary, creating a postcode lottery for retailers.

“The impact of licensing fees on small shops compared to supermarkets, which typically will have an alcohol turnover approximately 50 times greater than that of a small shop, are massively disproportionate.

“Consideration of Stage 2 of the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill will commence when the Scottish Parliament returns from the summer recess. We can only hope that both politicians and the Scottish Government learn lessons from the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and adopt a national approach ensuring new legislation is proportionate and addresses the cultural issues linked to Scotland’s drinking habits.”

SGF Comment on Alcohol Commission Report

31 August 2010

The Scottish Labour Alcohol Commission has published its final report on how to reduce the level of alcohol abuse in Scotland.

The report makes a series of recommendations including:

· a UK-wide approach that sets a “floor price” for alcohol that includes “the basic cost of production + duty+ VAT” with increases in duty acting as the main lever for achieving price levels that reduce misuse;

· mandatory challenge 25;

· improved educational techniques with the clear aim of tackling actual and potential alcohol abuse;

· limits on the number of licenses and hours of sale;

· the creation of a social responsibility levy to be paid for by alcohol retailers (on and off sales) and/or local sales tax on alcohol to be paid for by the purchaser;

· legislation on how alcohol sales within supermarkets and stores should be fully separate from other purchases:

· legislation to curtail alcohol advertising

John Drummond, Chief Executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation said:

“We welcome the Commission’s recognition that changing Scotland’s challenging relationship with alcohol requires a change in culture which must include an improvement in alcohol education starting in primary school. We also support and welcome their recommendation for a UK wide approach to the pricing of alcohol which introduces a ban on the sale of alcohol below a set floor price. This will stop supermarkets selling alcohol at irresponsibly low prices, help to level the playing field between small shops and the supermarkets and will prevent the unintended consequences which could arise from the introduction of minimum pricing.

“However, we have serious concerns regarding a number of the recommendations particularly relating to the creation of a social responsibility levy, potential legislation to fully separate alcohol sales from other purchases within a store and limits to curtail the number of licenses and hours of sale.

“Rather than continuing to penalize responsible retailers by introducing a social responsibility levy we believe greater emphasis must be placed on personal responsibility. If there is seen to be justification for a levy it should be based on the alcohol turnover of each store.

“Separating alcohol sales within a store from other purchases would be totally unworkable for small shops that do not have the space available to set up a separate checkout for alcohol and is likely to antagonize customers. During the consultation held ahead of the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill this idea was considered and dropped. Such a measure would have considerable costs associated with it for retailers who already face the prospect of having to change their checkout area as a result of tobacco legislation. Recommendations must be supported by a clear evidence base that an intervention will have the desired social impact.

“Limiting the number of licences will stifle innovation and prevent new businesses, which will contribute to the economy and create vital jobs, from entering the market. Changes to trading hours were only introduced a year ago when the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 was fully implemented. Existing legislation should be given time to work before consideration is given to moving the deckchairs once again.”

Alcohol Commission Report Final Word versionHD011

SGF Makes Case Against Inflexible Tobacco Regulations

20 July 2010

SGF has submitted a detailed response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the regulations governing the proposed ban on the display of tobacco in shops.

The Scottish Government draft regulations propose the permitted display area should be 120 sq cm (roughly the size of a packet of 20 cigarettes). In England, the Department of Health has agreed the permitted display area will be 7,500 sq cm.

SGF remains opposed to the ban and in their response calculated the cost of a ban under the current proposals as being far higher than suggested in the consultation and by Ministers.

John Drummond SGF Chief Executive said,

“Ministers have suggested the cost of a ban for a medium sized store would be around £320. We believe these costs have been severely underestimated. Discussions we have held with shop fitters, shows the likely costs of installing flaps over existing gantries will be at least £1400. However, these costs would increase if finding a long term retrofit solution for existing gantries proves challenging due to the restrictive dimensions of the permitted display area.

“There will also be additional on-going costs for retailers as a result of a display ban due to increased transaction times.

“Despite our opposition to the ban on the grounds that there is no compelling evidence that it would be effective, we will continue to engage to attempt to find a low cost solution.

“We are also asking the Scottish Government to reconsider implementation dates. Whilst we agree with staggered implementation dates between large and small shops, the compliance dates of October 2011 for large stores and October 2013 for small stores is unrealistic, considering the alterations that will have to be made in-store.

“These regulations will require a significant investment during a difficult trading climate and follow hard on the heels of the significant costs retailers are already absorbing following the implementation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

“For all retail business to comply with the regulations will be an operational and a financial burden. This burden will only be increased if the implementation timeframe is insufficient. We therefore recommend that the implementation dates should be extended to October 2012 for large stores and October 2014 for small stores.”

SGF Asks Retailers for Evidence on the Impact of the National Minimum Wage

6 July 2010

The Scottish Grocers Federation (SGF) is asking local shops across Scotland to provide the evidence needed to prove the damaging impact of future increases in National Minimum Wage (NMW)

SGF is encouraging retailers to return a questionnaire that investigates the impact of past increases on job creation, hours and investment in business growth. The findings will feed into SGF’s submission to the Low Pay Commission.

SGF Chief Executive John Drummond said: “Each year we provide written evidence to the Low Pay Commission that reflects the impact the NMW has on the industry. We need local shops to complete the questionnaire in order to build our case for a freeze in minimum wage.”

The Coalition Government in its remit to the Low Pay Commission has asked it to take into account the impact of the NMW on the competitiveness of small firms in this year’s consultation.

The Low Pay Commission is gathering evidence now. The deadline for submissions to their consultation is September 10th and a recommendation will be made to Government by the end of February 2011.