Six more pubcos go for code of practice clarity

Another six tenanted pub operators have submitted their lease codes of practice to be accredited for clarity under the BII-led scheme.

Codes from the unnamed companies are at various stages in the BIIBAS accreditation process, a BII spokeswoman told the MA.

"Some are in the initial stages, some are working towards being benchmarked at the moment," she said. There's no time scale for the next codes to be accredited.

So far Punch, Enterprise, Marston's, Fuller's, Trust Inns, Batemans, Charles Wells Pub Company and St Austell have the BIIBAS stamp on their codes.

In its submission to the Office of Fair Trading for its new study of the tie, following the Campaign for Real Ale's "super complaint", BII chief Neil Robertson said: "Others are awaiting the outcome of the Home Office consultation on the mandatory code before submitting codes of practice, since it is likely to change their approach."

The mandatory code, which is unlikely to be in place before the end of the year, is expected to include new training requirements of licensees.

BII told the OFT that BIIBAS will be strengthened this month. Codes must be re-accredited annually, there will be quarterly reports on how landlords have performed, and accredited codes will be published on the BIIBAS website and companies' own sites.

BIIBAS has come under fire in recent weeks, particularly over the case of Punch host Dave Mountford. The GMB union called the BII "disingenuous" for not removing the BIIBAS stamp from Punch's code after allegations of poor treatment of him by the pubco. Punch denied it acted improperly.

Meanwhile, Robertson also revealed that BII is developing a new qualification aimed at first-time tenants, and another for business development managers.