Greg Mulholland, the outgoing chair of the All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group, has secured a House of Commons debate on the Pubs Code Adjudicator role and the implantation of the code.
Mulholland, who has now been replaced as chair of the Save the Pub Group by Labour MP Toby Perkins, told MCA he was preparing a report on the situation. The debate will be held on 26 Januar, just over six months after the code came into force.
He said the findings were “pretty shocking” and that it was time the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy took action.
Mulholland the British Pub Confederation he chairs have been vocal critics of Adjudicator Paul Newby but in November the Government ruled out a further review of his suitability for the role.
Leeds North West MP, Mulholland, set up the Save the Pub Group in 2009 but said he now wanted to focus on his work at the BFC
Caroline Lucas MP, Charlotte Leslie MP and Louise Haigh MP were all re-elected as vice-chairs of the Save the Pub Group.
Mulholland told MCA’s sister title, the Morning Advertiser: “I congratulate Toby on being elected to this important role and hope he can ensure the Save the Pub Group continues to be just as successful in campaigning for British pubs and publicans as it has been for the last seven years.
“I am now able to concentrate on the important role of chairing the British Pub Confederation which is currently engaged in the serious issues and problems relating to the pubs code.
“This and the ongoing lack of protection for pubs against predatory purchasing need to be key issues for all pub campaigners going forward.”
The new chair Perkins told the MA: “Britain’s pubs are among the most precious of all our institutions, and I am thrilled to be elected by colleagues to take on the important work promoting the interests of Britain’s pubs.”
He thanked Mulholland for his “hard work over the last seven years” and said he looked forward to building on and renewing the group’s work.
He added: “I will be looking to build a constructive relationship with everyone who is crucial to the success of the British pub industry.
“The meeting also proposed a new work programme for the group which will be looking at issues as varied as planning, supermarkets, community ownership and satellite television provision as well as continuing to press for a successful conclusion to the issues that Greg and I worked on in the last parliament.
“I also look forward to working closely with the elected vice chairs Charlotte Leslie, Louise Haigh and Caroline Lucas.”
