Pub rate relief 'should be considered'

The Government could consider helping failing pubs by offering rate relief, an MP has said.

Janet Dean, vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said she was worried about plans to increase alcohol duty by 2% above inflation every year for the next four years.

Quoted by the Daily Express, she noted that rate relief for pubs who offer community services could help relieve the tax burden. "The work that they do – including, for instance, possibly allowing the use of toilets as public toilets and community involvement with football teams and other aspects – could be recognised with rating relief in some form," she said.

Meanwhile, The Publican today launched its Proud of Pubs Week campaign. Landlords are being encouraged to talk to their MPs about the positive aspects of their industry, as well as the challenges they face.

Spokesperson for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), Jon Howard, said that around 57 pubs close each month in the UK. "1600 pubs face an uncertain future, having been boarded up and facing the threat of demolition or conversion to housing," he told More Than Business news.

Lee Le Clercq, from the British Beer and Pub Association, said the smoking ban had been a contributing factor in many of the closures – particularly in the north of England.

"A lot of pubs in the north are like the Rovers Return," he said. "They serve the local community and generations of families. Many don't have the chance to diversify into food."

"Before the smoking ban, as many as 70 to 80% of customers in such pubs would smoke, and those pubs that are not able to provide an outdoor area are doomed to failure."

Le Clercq added that the price of supermarket alcohol was also undermining British pubs. "Many supermarkets use alcohol as a loss leader," he said. "Therefore, the price of alcohol in a pub is much more expensive."