Minister confident OFT would be "open-minded" in beer tie probe

A government minister has said he has "every confidence" in the ability of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to review the beer tie in an "open-minded" fashion.

In its report on pubco power last month, the Business and Enterprise Committee (BEC) called for the tie to be investigated by the Competition Commission.

This was prompted by fears the OFT would be keen on "defending its earlier position" - having examined the model on previous occasions.

But yesterday in Parliament, communications minister Lord Carter of Barnes, who is part of the same government department as Lord Mandelson, said: "On the specific point about an organisation being able to look at the matter again in an open-minded fashion, I have every confidence in the ability of the OFT in that regard."

The OFT is expected to have to look at the tie anyway, because the Campaign for Real Ale is due to lodge a "super complaint" about the model.

Separately the government is due to respond to the BEC report by the middle of next - although Lord Carter said this was "subject to further developments on this matter".

The minister was responding to a question by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Razzall, who raised concerns about the impact of the current pubco model.

Razzall asked: "Does the minister accept that since the so-called beer orders were introduced in 1989, there has been a significant change in the market that often disadvantages particularly the consumer or the tenant of public houses?"

In his response Lord Carter acknowledged the pub market had "changed significantly" since the beer orders.

He later concluded: "The position of the competition authorities on this is rightly that if there is new evidence that there has been a significant change in circumstances, the evidence should be submitted…if that results in the need for stronger action, then stronger action will duly be considered."