Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to consult family and micro-brewery pub owners on the proposed mandatory code of practice.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consulted family brewers and micro-brewers as part of last year's public consultation on proposals for a Statutory Code and independent Adjudicator for the pubs sector.

We received 34 written responses to the consultation from pub companies and breweries with fewer than 500 pubs, and from micro-breweries. In addition to this, Ministers and officials met with family and micro-brewers and their representative bodies before, during and after the consultation to discuss our proposals to establish a Statutory Code and independent Adjudicator.

For further information on stakeholders that ministers have met, I refer my hon Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff Central gave to the hon. Member for Chesterfield on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 426W.

The Department will continue to take an even handed approach to discussions with stakeholders from all sides of the debate as legislation proceeds through Parliament. Stakeholders, including family and micro-brewers, will also be given a further opportunity to comment on the Statutory Code through a further consultation once legislation is in place.