Statutory Code Of Practice For Pub Companies

EDM number 1023 in 2012-13, proposed by Greg Mulholland on 05/02/2013.
Categorised under the topics of Companies, Regulation and Service industries.

That this House welcomes the Government's commitment to a statutory code of practice for pub companies, overseen by an independent adjudicator, which will enshrine in law the prime principle that a tied licensee is no worse off than a free of tie licensee; believes this is great news for tied pubs and will deal with the fundamental problem that large pub owning companies take too much from pub profit than is fair or sustainable through double overcharging of inflated beer prices and high rents; further believes the best way to stop this is to offer all tied licensees (of companies covered by the code) a rent-only agreement, based on independently assessed market rent, alongside tied agreements; notes this is not abolishing the tie, it involves licensees who choose this option paying market rent to the pub owning company who retain ownership of the pub and therefore allowing pub owning companies to continue offering competitive tied agreements which should offer lower than market rents in return for higher product prices; further believes this is the simplest way to deliver the Government's commitment and also that it is a market based solution using market rent as a benchmark rather than directly regulating rent and tied product pricing levels, which is the alternative way to do so; and further notes that both rent only and fair-tied agreements would be a low cost entry to the trade but, unlike many current agreements, would be based on a fair balance of risk and reward for both licensees and pub owning companies.

This motion has been signed by a total of 30 MPs.