Greg Mulholland MP, Chair of the parliamentary Save the Pub group in the House of Commons, on Wednesday led a delegation to Holyrood to discuss extending the statutory pubs code to north of the border.
The delegation comprised Paul Waterson (Chief Executive, Scottish Licensed Trade Association), Colin Valentine (National Chairman, CAMRA), Ray Turpie (Scotland and Northern Ireland Director, CAMRA) Chris Wright (Pubs Advisory Service), Chris Lindesay (Punch Tenants Network) and long-time pub campaigner Gareth Epps.
Most of the delegation had earlier in the day visited the Glasgow-based Wellpark and Drygate breweries owned by C&C Group, where they met with Corporate Relations Director Paul Bartlett and received a tour of the breweries.
In the afternoon they headed to Edinburgh, where Greg Mulholland had invited Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to meet the delegation and find out about the work of their respective organisations.
Seven MSPs attended the meeting: Cara Hilton (Labour, Dunfermline), Neil Bibby (Labour, West Scotland), Elaine Murray (Labour, Dumfriesshire), Sandra White (SNP, Glasgow Kelvin), Mike McKenzie (SNP, Highlands and Islands), Cameron Buchanan (Conservative, Lothian) and Alison McInnes (Liberal Democrats, North East Scotland).
The delegation then headed to Saughton House, where the Scottish Government is based, to meet with officials representing business minister Fergus Ewing MSP. The discussion revolved around the studies being undertaken to gather evidence on the need for a statutory pubs code in Scotland, which will require primary legislation.
Greg Mulholland recently coordinated the national Fair Deal for Your Local campaign. The campaign on 18th November last year scored a sensational victory in the House of Commons by leading a coalition rebellion to pass an amendment to the Small Business Bill. Being the only legislative defeat that the coalition government faced during its five years in power, the need for a statutory pubs code and allowing the market rent only option are now both enshrined in law.
The code would apply only in England and Wales. Responding to a recent letter from Greg Mulholland, business secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that consultation on a code would begin this autumn. It must be in place by the end of May 2016.
Extending the pubs code to Scotland is also backed by the Scottish Tourism Alliance.
Commenting on yesterday’s visit to Scotland, Greg Mulholland MP said:
“It is great to be part of a delegation, of organisations in the Scottish licensed trade, to make the strong case that Scottish tenants deserve the same fair treatment as their English and Welsh counterparts.
“The Fair Deal for Your Local campaign achieved the right for English and Welsh pubco tenants to have access to the all important market rent only option, to stop the being ripped off by excessive beer prices and rents, however the legislation doesn’t apply to Scotland as it is a devolved matter. So it is crucial that the Scottish Government act to give Scottish pubco tenants of English pubcos the same right, or they will be discriminated against.
“There is a very strong coalition supporting this, including the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, CAMRA Scotland, licensees organisations, business organisations, trade unions and Scottish brewers including C & C/Tennent Caledonian. It has been excellent meeting with MSPs from all parties to discuss this and to get them involved with the campaign to ensure Scottish pubco tenants get a fair deal too.
“It is also very notable that Scottish brewers big and small support the market rent only option for Scotland. There is fantastic beer being brewed in Scotland yet they cannot sell into pubco pubs at a fair price and this is preventing fair access to market. It has been great to meet with C & C/Tennent Caledonian and visit the Drygate and Wellpark Breweries and discuss the campaign with them. It is clear that the Scottish companies in the sector and all organisations who genuinely represent Scottish licensed trade interests back this change and MSPs and Scottish Ministers must listen to them, not the voice of the English pubcos and their lobbyists, the BBPA who do not represent Scottish pubs, publicans or brewers”.
Paul Waterson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, added:
“The SLTA was delighted to be part of the coalition of interested parties, under the Chairmanship of Greg Mulholland MP, which visited the Scottish Parliament lobbying for Scottish Tenants rights. It is totally fair and reasonable that Scottish tenants are afforded the same rights and safeguards as their counterparts in England and Wales. With seven pubs a week closing in Scotland our Government must act as quickly as possible to protect tenants who are most vulnerable operators in our trade. Those MSPs who attended our meeting were very engaged and appeared sympathetic to the plight of our tenant members.”
Chris Lindesay from the Punch Tenants Network also added:
“We were very impressed by the very cogent questions asked by the MSPs – clearly indicating that all parties represented were well across the issues. We are confident that the Scottish Parliament will quickly realise the patent unfairness of the current asymmetry in the regulation of the tied trade and will move quickly to correct this anomaly.”
Long-time pub campaigner Gareth Epps said:
“Tenanted publicans in Scotland need to be able to compete on a level playing field in a competitive market and not be left worse off. It was encouraging to see support growing for this, but it seems Scotland’s pubs will have to be put at a disadvantage while its Government considers a decision.”
Chris Wright from the Pubs Advisory Service also said:
“The Pubs Advisory Service is committed to bringing fairness to all tenants; we could not stand by and see Scottish Tied Tenants cast adrift. The Scottish on-trade is first class but the lack of equality in law currently treats them as second. We want to ensure that Scottish tenants are not going to remain “worse off” and it was heartening to see the assembled cross-party MSPs taking on board our message to bring about a first class solution for a modern, forward-thinking business sector that thrives in Scotland today. Our visit showed there is a great deal of passion for pubs and we want to turn passion into parity over the coming weeks and months.”
Colin Valentine, National Chairman of CAMRA, added:
“CAMRA fully supports the introduction of the MRO option in Scotland, following its introduction in England and Wales. We believe that if it wasn’t introduced in Scotland, it would leave Scottish tenants of the large pub owning companies at a serious commercial disadvantage”.