Pub Companies

Andy Sawford Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Andy Sawford (Corby) (Lab/Co-op)]

We are pressed for time and other hon. Members want to speak, so I will truncate my remarks on what is an important debate.

I want to mention the role of local breweries in my constituency. Dick Simpson runs the Nene Valley brewery in Oundle, which started brewing in 2011. He told me that pubcos make it very hard for pub owners to show initiative. If pubs start to make a handsome profit, the pubcos whack the rent up so the landlord sees little of the extra cash. Local breweries, such as the Nene Valley brewery, the Great Oakley brewery, Rockingham Ales and many others in my constituency, would benefit from being able to sell to all the pubs in my area. Indeed, everybody would benefit: the pubs, the consumers, the local brewers, the local economy, the environment—because it would reduce beer miles—and tourism.

In autumn last year, I was delighted to welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins) to my constituency for some active research in my local pubs. He came to some of the rural pubs, such as a beautiful pub in Stanwick, and to the thriving pubs in Corby town. He also saw, however, that many of my local pubs are struggling. Some have closed down already; some may face closure in the near future. One reason for that, as has been said, is the profoundly unequal relationship between tenants and lessee landlords. In the past, if a pub owner was tied, he paid more for the beer but had the benefit of discounted rent. As we know, pubcos have increasingly put up both the rent and beer prices.

I will make my remarks even briefer than I intended. There are two critical issues on which I want to press the Front Bench. I recently sat on the Groceries Code Adjudicator Public Bill Committee, and we know that the role of the Bill’s proposed ombudsman will only be as strong as the code itself. One of my questions relates to the power to fine, on which the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) gave a big concession on that Bill. The power to fine in yesterday’s announcement is only where there are severe breaches. I would like to know how broadly the Government might define “severe breaches”. If the definition is too limited, this code will not have sufficient teeth.

My concluding point is that I, of course, agree with the tests that my hon. Friend has set out, in particular the principle that a tied licensee should be no worse off than a free-tie licensee. That does not go far enough: I want a tie-free option.