PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
FAIR DEAL FOR YOUR LOCAL CAMPAIGN (8 May 2013)

That this House welcomes the Fair Deal for Your Local campaign supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, Forum of Private Business, the Campaign for Real Ale, Guild of Master Victuallers, Fair Pint, Licensees Supporting Licensees, Pubs Advisory Service, Justice for Licensees and Licensees Unite calling for a fair deal for licensees tied to large pub companies; further welcomes the Government's commitment to introduce a statutory code of practice to enshrine principles of fair dealing and that tied licensees should not be worse off than free of tie licensees; notes that large companies take more than is fair or sustainable from pub profits in both inflated product prices and excessive rents, causing failure of pub businesses nationwide; believes that to deliver the Government's commitment the code must include an option for tied landlords of large companies to pay an independently assessed market rent only to their pub owning company and that this should be offered alongside tied agreements; further notes that this solution was put forward by the former Business and Enterprise Committee, and now by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, with unanimous cross-party support of Committee members; further believes that this would deliver a fair and positive business relationship between large pub companies and their licensees, resulting in a thriving pub sector which would boost the economy; supports the commitment to exclude family brewers by applying the code to companies that own more than 500 pubs; and urges the Government to implement this to secure a sustainable future for Britain's pubs.

Sponsored by:
Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat)