SBPA has long opposed blanket Social Responsibility Levies along with other trade bodies believing it is simply little more than a further tax on the industry at a time when we are still dealing with the estimated £60million cost of licensing reform and the toughening economic climate.
We believe that if Social Responsibility Levies are to go ahead then they should be targeted at those premises which have secured a conviction under the terms of the 2005 Licensing Act, and not on a blanket basis, paid by every premises as is currently proposed.
We want to join our campaign opposing the imposition of blanket Social Responsibility Levies by writing to your Members of the Scottish Parliament opposing this change and asking them to reject blanket Social Responsibility Levies when the Alcohol Etc. (Scotland) Bill has its Stage 3 Debate in the Scottish Parliament at some point over the next few weeks. You can find the details of how to do this by reading further down this page.
Thanks for your support on behalf of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association and Scotland’s Licensed Trade.
Contacting Your Members of the Scottish Parliament
Every constituency in Scotland has one Constituency Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and seven Regional MSPs.
You can find out who your local MSP and who your Regional MSPs are by typing your home or business postcode into the Constituency Location tool which you can find by following the link below.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/
MSPAddressPostcodeFinder.htm
This will identify all of your MSPs. Once you have your MSPs’ names you can write to them at:
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh EH99 1SP
Or send them an email at their Parliament email address (using the MSPs’ name(s) in the following format).
Firstname.Surname.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
(For example: Joe.Smith.msp@scottish.parliament.uk)
Remember you are entitled to contact all of your Regional MSPs who also represent you.
You can cut and paste the suggested text into your letter or email and edit it as required.
“Dear Member of the Scottish Parliament
Alcohol Etc. (Scotland) Bill – Social Responsibility Levies
I am writing to you in advance of the Scottish Parliament’s Stage 3 Debate on Sections 10 and 11 in the Alcohol Bill relating to Social Responsibility Levies.
I am writing to you because I have a real concern about the imposition of blanket Social Responsibility Levies on all licensed premises without due regard as to whether a licensed business is being operated properly or not.
[You may delete or use any of the points below as appropriate]
- I believe the focus should be on enforcing the law as it stands in relation to bad operators and anti-social behaviour, rather than imposing blanket levies on responsible operators to deal with any problems after they have been caused by unlawful activity.
- I think it is fundamentally unfair to impose Social Responsibility Levies on all operators including those who are obeying the law and not causing any problems, rather than targeting problem premises.
- I have doubts about how Social Responsibility Levies will work in practice, with no figure yet given by the Scottish Government as to how much they intend Social Responsibility Levies to raise or how this would be spent.
- I believe Levies would be unworkable in practice and would damage other proven and successful voluntary initiatives which the industry is currently involved in like Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Best Bar None and Pubwatch.
- Scotland’s licensed industry already pays an estimated £2 billion a year in taxation, much of this is already related specifically to the sale of alcohol through excise and beer duties. Additionally, pubs uniquely amongst licensed premises pay business rates on the basis of rateable values directly linked to their turnover, meaning pubs already pay proportionately more in business rates compared to other licensed businesses because they sell alcohol.
- I have grave doubts about the ability of Licensing Boards and Councils to properly manage the cash generated by any Levies. During licensing transition a number of Licensing Boards, could not account for, or even say, what income they generated through licensing fees, let alone account for how this was spent. We fear giving Councils the power to raise potentially millions of pounds in Social Responsibility Levies will lead to a rerun of those problems with any funding raised being spent without proper oversight.
- I note that the imposition of Social Responsibility Levies were partially justified because of a suggested “windfall” profit to retailers from the imposition of Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol, but given that Parliament itself will reject Minimum Pricing I would question whether Levies can therefore continue to be justified.
As my elected Member of the Scottish Parliament, I would ask during the Stage 3 Debate that you oppose any proposals for Social Responsibility Levies imposed on a blanket basis and instead support these being targeted on those premises which have been proven to have broken the law and have been convicted on that basis.
I hope I can rely on your support.
Yours sincerely”
Making your email/letter have an impact:
· Make it clear that it is a personal statement as the Councillor’s/MSP’s constituent or a business within their ward/constituency - this will have more impact.
· Tell them about your business – how many people you employ, about your customers, the local suppliers you support and what your pub does for the local community.
· Keep your e-mail/letter simple and concise – perhaps by only covering just the one topic.
· Give your elected representative your name and give your address.
· Be reasonable and polite - being aggressive won't help get your message across.
· If a politician already supports your position on the issue, write to thank them for their support.
· Make sure you ask for a response to your e-mail/letter.
· Write a follow-up - depending on the outcome say thank you or give a polite expression of disappointment in their lack of support for your concerns. |
