There's more trouble ahead for the pub trade, with enforcement activity on the up and, of course, further legislation in the offing.
Still, legislation takes a while to push through Parliament - even the flagship Policing and Crime Bill - so the Home Office has a bit of free-time on its hands.
So in a move about as welcome as a warm lager, officials have been running a series of free roadshows for council licensing officers to encourage more enforcement activity against pubs.
Councils themselves are particularly keen on enforcement activity, as due to the tough environment for pubs, variations and applications for new licences have tailed off and there's a revenue shortfall for many.
Still, you'd hope the police would rise above all this populist nonsense and apply some commonsense to the issue of problem drinking, taking a lead were politicians will not. Well, in a word, no.
At one of the recent licensing roadshows a senior police officer, who's remit is licensing, actually claimed that Challenge 21 (the scheme that encourages those behind the bar to ask for ID if the person looks younger than 21) was a marketing campaign aimed at selling alcohol to youngsters.
This is Challenge 21 that the British Beer & Pub Association says of on its website: "research has demonstrated that 90% of 18-24 years olds are aware of the Challenge 21 scheme, demonstrating the success of the scheme amongst its key target group".
But not, it word seem, the police. It's enough to drive you to drink.
Pub leaders call for freeze in alcohol duty>>
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