How do you feel about your local authority setting your prices? A recent report from a home affairs select committee of M P's investigating ant-social behaviour, nuisance neighbours and alcohol related disorder has suggested that Local Authorities use 'existing' powers to impose a minimum charge for alcoholic drinks.

The Office of Fair Trading has already rung a few alarm bells and the Local Government Association is unclear about exactly what powers, if any, any local authority has to do this.

Another of the suggestions by the Select Committee is a mandatory contribution towards paying for alcohol related disorder in 'zones' that are recognised as being hot spots of public disorder.

The difficulty of appointing Local Authorities to perform these tasks is that national chains of pubs/bars will find themselves paying different amounts to different local councils to satisfy the levy that each local council sets to pay for this initiative.

So a pub in say Halifax, (it could be anywhere) which is part of a national group, is situated in a 'trouble' zone. It will pay a high public disorder order levy for general security cover in that area. Another pub with an equivalent turnover in a 'no trouble zone' will pay less in a public disorder levy.

So if you owned a group of pubs where are you going to buy more? In an area with many trouble zones where you will pay a high tax or in an area where there are only a few trouble zones and consequently the taxation levels are lower? Asssumomig, as I do, that the answer to this question is the latter, how long before the quieter areas becomes disturbance zones and the local residents start to kick up a fuss about crime, public disorder, safety etc.

So is this initiative a runner? Only time will tell but you might like to think about making representations to your professional body if you agree or disagree with the proposal.

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