Matt Eley: Meeting the pub trade's new minister

Such is the new licensing minister's resemblance to comedian and voiceover artist extraordinaire Alexander Armstrong that I was half expecting him to crack open the Pimm's when we met this week.

'Ten trade journalists, four civil servants, one new minister - I make that Pimm's o'clock', were the words I imagined our new minister John Penrose uttering.

Instead, and rather more prosaically, he poured the tea and offered around the chocolate chip cookies as we sat down to discuss the issues he is likely to face in his new job.

And there will be plenty of them, evidenced by the eclectic bunch invited to the meeting.

As well as the licensed trade there were hacks covering areas as diverse as horse racing, caravanning, slot machines and outbound tourism.

So, where exactly will pubs feature on the list of priorities for Mr Penrose, I wondered? Although he didn't say it in so many words, I suspect not very high.

"Should pubs be a reason for foreign tourists to visit this country? Absolutely," said the minister.

And how exactly will your department encourage that?

The answer was, and I am prepared to accept this is still early days for the coalition, etc, all too vague - something along the lines of 'pubs are part of an overall package, blah blah blah'.

This again highlights the problem. Penrose's job title is Minister for Tourism and Heritage. Pubs are just one small part of that - and the chances of reprising the Pubs Minister role, somewhat belatedly created by the last government, are slim to non-existent.

And while Penrose seems happy to offer platitudes about pubs such as 'there is no agenda to penalise responsibly run outlets' or the oft quoted 'pubs are part of the solution' line, as yet he offers little hope of helping to drive the industry forward.

Instead, and somewhat worryingly, he was keen to stress that his department will be working closely with the Home Office (no fans of a pint they) where pubs are concerned.

This appears to be a classic 'good cop, bad cop' arrangement where Penrose and co can talk proudly of the benefits pubs can bring, while his Home Office colleagues come up with yet more plans to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour stemming from alcohol.

For example, it is the Home Office that now seems to be leading the review of the Licensing Act, which leaves the licensing minister with what exactly?

For now we will have to wait and see exactly what our new minister has in store. Meanwhile as Wimbledon approaches it might just be worth ordering that Pimm's and lemonade.