Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets (): As part of the third
statutory review of the Pubs Code and the Pubs Code Adjudicator
(PCA), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will today
publish a 12-week long invitation to stakeholders to provide
their views and evidence on the operation of the Pubs Code and
the performance of the PCA.
There are a range of different types of operating models for pubs
and, in 2016, legislation came into force in England and Wales to
tackle concerns specific to one type of the operating model: the
tied pub model. Under the tied pub model the tenant agrees to buy
beer and other products and services from their landlord in
return for lower rent and other benefits. The Pubs Code etc.
Regulations 2016, applying to England and Wales, ensure the fair
and lawful treatment of tied pub tenants of large pub-owning
businesses. The Pubs Code also provides the tied pub tenant with
certain rights, including the right, in certain circumstances, to
require the landlord to offer a change to their commercial
contract from a tied tenancy to a free-of-tie tenancy.
The role of the PCA is to investigate and enforce compliance with
the Code, provide advice, consult on and issue guidance, and
arbitrate disputes in respect of compliance with the Pubs Code.
The PCA is appointed by the Secretary of State for Business and
Trade.
The Secretary of State is required by the legislation to review
periodically the operation of the Pubs Code and the performance
of the PCA. This third review covers the 3-year period from 1
April 2022 to 31 March 2025.
The invitation to submit comments and evidence can be accessed
through gov.uk https://gov.uk/government/consultations/statutory-review-of-pubs-code-and-pubs-code-adjudicator-2022-to-2025(opens
in a new tab) and stakeholders have until 14 August 2025 to
respond. A report on the findings of the statutory review will be
published as soon as practicable and laid before Parliament by
the Secretary of State.
The government announced in March that it would review the
performance of the PCA as part of its Regulatory Action Plan.
This invitation for comments and evidence, will therefore also
seek views to inform a wider post-implementation review (PIR) of
the Pubs Code. The PIR will consider the Code's impact since it
came into force in 2016, including the extent to which the
regulation is working, if the policy has achieved its objectives,
whether the intervention is the most appropriate approach and if
intervention and regulation is still required.
The Terms of Reference for the third statutory review of the Pubs
Code and the PCA have today been placed in the libraries of both
Houses of Parliament.
