Red tape hope for pubs

The red tape watchdog has told Government pubs face a "particularly high regulatory burden".

The Better Regulation Executive has told Lord Young, who has been tasked with cutting regulation by the Government, that pubs are one sector that could do with a helping hand.

The group consulted the BII on the regulations pubs face as well attending a Pubwatch meeting in Enfield.

In its report to Lord Young — Lightening the Load — it said: "We found that micro pubs [run by a single person] have a particularly high regulatory burden — they have to be registered with around five agencies, have around eight licences of various kinds and have to keep written records for National Minimum Wage, PAYE, food safety and refusals of underage sales.

"They also have to pay for staff training, waste collection and recycling."

It adds: "A number of pub operators said that they were either struggling from month to month or said that they were unable to make a profit but 'couldn't afford to close'."

BII chief executive Neil Robertson said: "It is excellent news and evidence that at least this part of Government is taking the concerns of pubs very seriously."

The BII vowed to "stay close" to the issue and hopes to put present a wider case study on how the industry self-regulates, through schemes such as Best Bar None, to the Better Regulation Executive.