Government set to respond to BISC committee report on pubs

The Government is today expected to respond to a call from a committee of MPs to introduce statutory codes of practice for pub companies.

In September, the Business Innovation and Skills Committee said it was time for the Government to act, and slammed the industry's slow approach to reform.

The proposals are expected to be debated in the House of Commons on 6 December.

In its 10th report on pub companies, published in September, the committee said: "The purpose of this inquiry into pub companies was to assess whether or not the industry had delivered on its promise of meaningful reform. As with previous inquiries, modest improvements have been made. However, the fact that it has taken a number of select committee inquiries to prompt these improvements demonstrates the deep-seated problems which lie at the heart of the industry," the report said.

"While the new codes of practice are a step in the right direction, they only address a limited number of areas. In many areas we do not believe that there has been a genuine commitment to reform. Many of the potential benefits of the new code, which were identified by our predecessor committees, have been undermined by a process of implementation which can only be described as half-hearted."

MPs lose patience with pubcos and call for Government to consult on statutory code >>

BBPA rejects MPs' call for statutory regulation >>

By Neil Gerrard

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