ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY BEER GROUP REPORT
The APPBG’s report, called Caskenomics: Cask beer’s COVID crisis and the impact on people, pubs and places, was published in early June. I suspect that most readers will find little to disagree with in its findings. In general, the report said that the pub and brewery sector needed immediate support because sales were not predicted to reach pre- pandemic levels until at least the end of 2022. This support should take the form of reductions in beer duty, VAT or business rates. All of these happen to be currently under review and the Treasury is set to publish the conclusions of a review into alcohol duty this summer.
The chair of the APPBG, Mike Wood MP, said, “Brexit provides an opportunity for the Chancellor to charge lower duty rates on draught beers – it’s an opportunity we would urge him to consider. For instance, halving the duty on draught beer – a cut of 22p on an average strength pint – would be a £600 million shot in the arm to save our pubs and breweries.” The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) welcomed the report and their chief executive, James Calder, commented, “Cask beer produced by our nation’s small and independent brewers is integral to our community pubs and forms an important part of our cultural heritage. However under COVID, cask beer has faced its biggest threat. So that small independent brewers and pubs can survive and thrive into the future, now is the time for the Chancellor to consider a lower duty on draught beer.” It is important to note that the reductions proposed relate to cask beer only.
Beer duty is paid by brewers on the beer that leaves their gates so any reduction would give them an immediate saving and, if they sell direct to pubs, they would be able to reduce their prices accordingly. What, however, happens where the beers are being sold to pub companies for onward sale to pubs under the tie?
According to the Morning Advertiser on 1 June, nearly 24% of licensed premises in Britain were still closed. Some of these will have been nightclubs and small pubs which may have been able to reopen on 19 July but it is still a worryingly high number.
THE PUBS CODE
July 16 saw the fifth anniversary of the Pubs Code coming in effect. Its history and prospects will be covered in a later edition.
Readers will recall the case of Gary Murphy, the tenant of Ye Olde Mitre in High Barnet, and his battle with Greene King to secure a Market Rent Only agreement. In the course of the case, it was revealed that in 2017 the Pubs Code Adjudicator (at the time, Paul Newby) had issued a statutory advice note under the Code which contained what was subsequently described as a ‘significant error’. It allowed pub owning businesses (POBs) to force tenants who were seeking to change to Market Rent Only agreements into additional arbitration which simply delayed the process and increased the tenant’s costs. As part of a potential High Court action, in 2019 Gary made a request under the Freedom of Information Act to see the notes of the meetings which the PCA had held with the POBs on the subject and any relevant letters. The PCA refused, claiming that to do so ‘would impede future free and frank discussions between the office and regulated pubcos’. The Information Commissioner sided with the PCA so Gary appealed and an Information Appeals Tribunal has now upheld the appeal, saying, “The Pubs Code Adjudicator did not deal with the appellant’s request for information in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The PCA was not entitled to withhold information within the scope of the refined request”. The Tribunal instructed the PCA to disclose all information by 12 July 2021. The current PCA, Fiona Dickie, supported the original decision not to release the papers. The Tribunal said that they thought that she ‘held a reasonable opinion that exemptions applied to the requested information’ but they ‘came to a different view on where the public interest balance lies’. The PCA said that they were ‘considering their next steps’ and I do not know if the information has been released. Gary’s threat of action over the incorrect advice note was, incidentally, sufficient to oblige the PCA withdraw it.
CAPACITY VERIFICATION
This is the technical term for the symbol and lines used on glassware to indicate that their capacity has been checked and approved. Many moons ago this was the Crown mark. When we joined what became the European Union, the Crown became the CE mark. Although we have left the EU, it remains a legal requirement for licensed premises selling alcohol in measured amounts to use appropriately marked glassware. Consequently, the Government has replaced the CE mark with the UKCA (United Kingdom Conformity Assessment) mark. Apparently this happened on 1 January but I have to admit that I have only just found out about it. All glasses produced since that date have had to carry the UKCA mark. CE glasses remain legal for as long as stocks last. There was some lobbying for a return to the Crown mark but without success.
CHECK YOUR PIGGYBANKS!
The Bank of England has announced that the paper £50 and £20 notes still in circulation will ‘cease to be legal tender’ from 30 September 2022. All current notes are now polymer based. This announcement was made at the same time as the new polymer £50 note, featuring Alan Turing, entered circulation. The paper £20 notes were the most frequently forged of all notes in circulation so anyone handling cash will be glad to see the back of them. The problem has, of course, been eased recently by the increase in the use of card payments. The new notes have a wide range of security features, details of which can be found on the Bank of England’s website.