New MPs dominate pubco scrutiny committee

Newly-elected MPs are to dominate the new-look committee that will monitor pubco reform.

Of the 11 MPs on the Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC) for this Parliament, at least eight are understood to be first-time MPs.

For the first time, all BISC members have been voted in by their party MPs. The exception is chairman Adrian Bailey, who was elected by all MPs.

Members are expected to be officially announced next week but those from the Conservative and Labour parties have been revealed on political websites.

From Labour, only Bailey has been an MP before. The others are: Luciana Berger (Liverpool Wavertre), Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington), Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) and Rachel Reeves (Leeds West).

Similarly, Brian Binley, a member of BISC in the last Parliament, is the only Tory on the new committee not elected for the first time this year. Other Conservative members are: Rebecca Harris (Castle Point), Margot James (Stourbridge), Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) and Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon).

The Liberal Democrat on the committee, Bradford MP David Ward, is also newly elected.

The MPs will play a key role in advising the Government what actions to take on pubcos and the tie.

BISC gave pubcos until June 2011 to make changes such as offering free-of-tie options and having positive results from their updated codes of practice with tenants.

The timetable has been endorsed by the previous Government and the present one.

The two members that were most vocal in their criticism of pubcos during oral hearings, ex-chairman and current defence minister Peter Luff and Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle, will not be on the new committee.

Bill Sharp, chairman of the Independent Pub Confederation, which is critical of pubcos, said he didn't expect much change from the new membership.

"I'm quite confident that the new committee will look at the case that has been made [against pubcos] and use their judgement to decide."