May 2008

Noctis

Noctis COMMENT

A thousand cUts

Operational, Noctis comment, May 2008, COMMENTS

In 1752 when the British Calendar Act of 1751 came into force (switching Britain from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar) there were apparently riots in the street as the angry populace shouted: “Give us our eleven days!” This was one of the more bizarre historical happenings as the population went to bed on 2 September and woke up on the fourteenth.

I was reminded of this obscure fact from A-level history when certain operators in our sector were recently effectively robbed of a trading hour when the clocks went forward. An hour might not seem a great deal to those authorities that took it away, yet for many operators, Saturday night is the only night that they really make any money. To take this valuable trading time away therefore is actually cruel and unusual punishment, especially at a time when many businesses are really suffering.

This attitude (whether it is motivated by ignorance or indifference) demonstrates a wider and more fundamental fact: that some of those who make the rules and regulations don’t always contemplate the full effects that their edicts will have on an already hard-pressed industry. For an industry such as ours, it will never be a single piece of legislation that strangles us – more of death by a thousand cuts. This is what we have been stressing to the government over recent months.

Cheap supermarket alcohol, the economic downturn, the ‘liberalisation’ of the licensing regime, the smoking ban, the image of ‘Binge Britain’, the health lobby, the serious shortcomings of the SIA, more intrusive enforcement, the draconian tax burden imposed by the Chancellor, and many more issues have all conspired to create a kind of ‘perfect storm’, which will inevitably have major consequences for our industry. It is true that some operators will survive and thrive in these difficult times, but other decent businesses will not be able to navigate these treacherous waters - and will go under.

So why does the government not try to give us all the help they can? One could not begin to imagine other industries getting such a difficult time from a government to which we contribute millions of pounds to the exchequer. The answer is obviously multi-faceted. I believe that one of the reasons why our sector gets treated like a second-class citizen is because we are too often viewed as a problem rather than an asset to this country.

Too often politicians listen to the newspaper headlines, no matter how hysterical, rather than the facts. It’s odd that so many of those who make the laws have such a vastly different view from the majority of the estimated three million happy customers our industry serves every week. People in this country love their clubs and bars. They spend all week working hard in their jobs or college courses and look forward to a night out in their favourite late night venues. Tourists too come from far flung places to experience the UK’s nighttime economy, because it is regarded as the best in the world.

Noctis continues to work very hard to change those negative views, arguing strongly that any industry which is world-beating should be trumpeted not trampled. I am therefore extremely grateful to John Grogan MP (Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group) who has kindly offered to host an event at the House of Commons for Noctis members later this year. This is a tremendous opportunity for UK operators to sing the praises of our sector. Hopefully this will go some way to change the minds of those law-makers who have their eyes firmly fixed on the heritage of the past rather than the cultural riches of the present.

These and other activities will be uploaded on to the ‘News’ and the ‘Events’ pages on the new Noctis website: www.noctisuk.org which has just gone live. The Commons event and lots of the other Noctis activities over the next few months will be stressing the fact that even though the late night sector continues to be indomitable, entrepreneurial, socially responsible and forward-thinking, we now need help and support, not further pressure.

NB: For all those Noctis members who wish to come to the House of Commons event later this year (details of timings to be posted in due course) please email us at events@noctisuk.org.

Words: Paul Smith (NOCTIS)

From: May 2008

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