Wales Office minister welcomes plan to help Welsh pubs
Wales Office minister Stephen Crabb has welcomed Vince Cable's plan to introduce an independent publican adjudicator.
Wales Office minister Stephen Crabb has welcomed plans announced today by the Business Secretary Vince Cable to introduce an independent publican adjudicator to address unfair practices in the industry.
Mr Crabb said:
An independent adjudicator would stand up for pubs in Wales, supporting struggling pub landlords by tackling unfair practices in the industry. By developing a Code, disputes between companies, abuses of the beer tie, unreasonable rents and issues around publican beer pricing could be addressed.
In Wales, these measures will help struggling publicans particularly in rural areas where the pub is a vital social hub for many communities. The announcement today will give publicans a fairer chance of developing business and surviving in the future.
Notes for editors
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will base the proposed code on the existing Industry Framework Code, which will be enhanced to include an overarching ‘fair dealing’ provision, and also the principle referring to the beer tie which states that ‘a tied licensee should also be no worse off than a free-of-tie-licensee.’
This will be particularly important for rents, as the consultation will propose that guidance issued by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors be interpreted in light of this principle.
For more information http://news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/New-proposals-to-stand-up-for-British-pubs-and-prevent-unfair-practices-685c4.aspx