BISC: Pressure put on Government to act over pubco vote
The Business, Innovation & Skills Committee (BISC) is to send a letter to the Government asking for details on how it plans to implement an independent panel to monitor the pubco-tenant relationship.
BISC chairman Adrian Bailey is insisting the Government take action after he won a Parliamentary motion calling for the establishment of the panel, approved by BISC, to monitor the self-regulation deal with the British Beer & Pub Association.
BISC believes the Government has to act as this was a vote with overwhelming support of MPs. However, the Government is not legally bound by the vote. The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) said it noted the decision, but confirmed to the Publican’s Morning Advertiser last week that it still
has no current plans to take any action.
Bailey said: “We have had a select committee meeting and agreed to send a letter to BIS to see how they are going to engage.”
He said BISC is still receiving information from concerned licensees who claim they are being treated unfairly by their pubcos.
In another twist, pub campaigner and All-Party Save the Pub Group chairman Greg Mulholland has also written a letter to BISC chairman Adrian Bailey outlining the details of the negotiations between the Government and the pubcos.
He had requested information from BIS on its discussions with the Government and pub trade through a freedom of information request.
In the letter he presents evidence that the Independent Pub Confederation (IPC) was not involved in any of the negotiations. This includes the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, Guild of Master Victuallers, Federation of Small Businesses, CAMRA, Fair Pint, Justice for Licensees, Unite and the GMB.
Simon Clarke of Fair Pint said: "The Fair Pint campaign was not, any stage, invited to, or informed of, the ongoing negotiation between Ed Davey, minister for employment relations, consumer and postal affairs, and the BBPA."
Mulholland said: “There is a seriously bad smell surrounding this whole unsavoury process.
“The Save the Pub Group will seek to keep the pressure on BIS to act with more transparency and more integrity — and that includes commissioning an independent review later this year, as the House of Commons has mandated them to do”.
