{"id":654,"date":"2019-11-21T11:32:26","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T11:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=654"},"modified":"2019-11-21T11:32:28","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T11:32:28","slug":"news-views-november-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2019\/11\/21\/news-views-november-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"News & Views – November 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PUBS CODE REVIEW <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Submissions to the statutory review closed on 22 July but there is currently no indication from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as to when the report will be laid before Parliament. The \u2018Introduction to contribute\u2019 document says that, in line with principles laid down by the Cabinet Office, \u2018responses to consultations should be published within 12 weeks of the consultation closing<\/em>\u2019. That made it the middle of October. Anyone seen anything? This, from the same document, is what we can expect: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022the extent to which, in the Secretary of State\u2019s opinion, the\nPubs Code is consistent with the principles set out in section 42(3); <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022any revisions of the Pubs Code which, in the Secretary of State\u2019s\nopinion, would enable the Pubs Code to reflect more fully those principles; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022how effective the Adjudicator has been in enforcing the Pubs\nCode; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022whether it would be desirable to amend or replace the regulations\nsetting out fees, costs and financial penalties under Sections 51(2) or (7) or\n58(6); and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022whether the Secretary of State intends to give guidance to the\nPubs Code Adjudicator under Section 65 or if he intends to use the powers in\nSection 66 (abolition of the Adjudicator). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pubs Code Adjudicator, Peter Newby, who leaves his post next\nMay, met the CAMRA National Executive and Regional Directors on Saturday 16\nNovember. See page 27. In the meantime the Deputy Pubs Code Adjudicator, Fiona\nDickie, has been reappointed for a further two years from 1 November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHANGE OF MINISTER <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A<\/strong>lthough the incumbent is part of the Ministry of Housing,\nCommunities & Local Government (MHCLG), presumably the Pubs Minister will\nhave some input into the above. At this crucial time, there has been a change\nof post holder. The Viscount Younger of Leckie, to give him his full title, has\nstood down because of his close relationship with the brewing industry.\nIronically, he has never worked in it but he does understand it. Responsibility\nhas passed to his fellow MHCLG minister, Luke Hall. Mr Hall is the MP for\nThornbury & Yate in Gloucestershire. Happily the They Work for Us <\/em>website reports that \u2018Luke Hall voted for requiring pub companies to offer pub landlords\nrent-only leases, while most Conservative MPs generally voted against\u2019<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW CHIEF FOR THE BBPA <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

T<\/strong>he British Beer and Pubs Association (BBPA), the trade\norganisation for the pub owning businesses, have announced that their new chief\nexecutive will be Emma McClarkin, an expert in political communications. She\nwas a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for ten years and is\ndescribed as being \u2018a true beer lover\u2019, having been a Vice President of the\nEuropean Parliament Beer Club during her tenure as a MEP. Ms McClarkin told Hospitality & Catering News, \u201cThe great British pub is an\ninstitution; it provides a home for the amazing beers we brew in the UK as well as a\nhub for local produce and local people. The industry is a showcase for\ninnovation and how business can contribute to society and I\u2019m looking forward\nto telling that story in my new role. I\u2019m excited to be leading the BBPA as it\ncontinues to make sure that this great community asset is protected, that\nBritish beer continues to be revered on the national and international stage,\nand that our industry is recognised for the amazing contribution it makes to\nthe economy and the social fabric of Britain<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her predecessor, Brigid Simmonds OBE (for services to sport) gave\nthe Morning Advertiser <\/em>a long valedictory interview which included the following, \u201cI\u2019m not a person who believes we can keep every pub open.\nDemographics are changing and there are historic pubs in places that cannot\nsupport them. I\u2019m always saying to people who want to protect pubs in their local\narea, \u2018don\u2019t protect pubs artificially\u2019. If you\u2019ve got two pubs in an area,\nboth which are struggling, if you try to keep them both open they\u2019ll inevitably\nboth close. In some places we can\u2019t support every pub and need to be realistic,\nbut I still think good pubs are doing well. We now serve one billion meals a\nyear in pubs, we\u2019ve got 50,000 bedrooms and we\u2019ve got pubs that serve local\nfood, local beer, they\u2019re iconic and fascinating and people still want to go to\nthem so let\u2019s keep those pubs going. But, if you don\u2019t go to the pub you will\nlose them<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a thought for Ms McClarkin. It is now common practice for\nhigh street retailers experiencing financial problems to ask their landlords\nfor a reduction in rent. Pub owning businesses however still persist in\nmaximising the rent that they charge their tenants. Apart from the obvious\nanswer, greed, why? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FINANCE <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I <\/strong>had hoped to avoid mentioning the general election but one of its\nconsequences was the cancellation of the budget due on 6 November in which action\non business rates had been anticipated. CAMRA\u2019s National Chairman, Nik Antona,\nsaid the sector was overpaying about \u00a3500 million every year because pubs pay\n2.8% of the business rates bill but only account for 0.5% of total business\nturnover. There is hope however. The House of Commons Treasury Select Committee\nhas issued a report which says that the system is \u2018broken\u2019 with rates for high\nstreet businesses, such as pubs, being unfairly calculated. They have asked the\nGovernment to come up with alternatives in time for the Spring Statement.\nFurthermore, there may be some action on alcohol duty. The Prime Minister said\nthat there would be a commitment to this in his party\u2019s manifesto. The\nannouncement was made when visiting a whisky distillery but the review will be\nacross the board. Nik Antona again, \u201cAction on duty is needed to encourage people to drink in pubs,\nwhich are supervised community settings, rather than buying cheap alcohol in\nsupermarkets and consuming it at home. We welcome this commitment to review\nalcohol duty. Should it go ahead, we hope it will result in measures that\nbenefit responsible beer drinkers<\/em>.\u201d UKHospitality said that they would like to see a separate rate\nfor draught beer, wine and spirits sold in pubs, bars and restaurants. This is\nsomething that CAMRA would support as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAID OF HONOUR <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

T<\/strong>his\nis absolutely nothing to do with the politics involved but I was annoyed to see\nthat the fact that Baroness Hale had once been a barmaid was used in an attempt\nto discredit the Supreme Court\u2019s controversial \u2018Brexit\u2019 judgement. This
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is not only insulting to\nher personally but also to everyone \u2013 of any gender \u2013 who works in our pubs.\nBar staff make just as big a contribution to the nation\u2019s well-being as do\npoliticians and journalists; possibly more so. Also the pejorative and\nmisogynistic way in which \u2018barmaid\u2019 has been used illustrates that, as I said in\nlast edition\u2019s editorial, we still have a way to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE\nLAW <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

T<\/strong>he Armistice Brewing Company of Richmond, California,\nhave upset the British baking star, Mary Berry. They had concocted a \u2018pastry\nstout\u2019 (10.4% ABV) made with chocolate, vanilla and an unfeasibly large amount\nof raspberry pur\u00e9e, and named it after her. Ms Berry however was not amused and\nthe brewery were immediately in receipt of a \u2018cease and desist\u2019 notice from her\nlawyers. Their reaction was to put stickers over the contentious words and\nimages and carry on selling it as \u2018Cease and Desistberry Pastry Stout\u2019. What is\nnot clear is whether Ms Berry objected to the infringement of her image rights\nor the recipe for the beer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW\nLONG? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I<\/strong>\u2019m sure that many readers saw the story\nabout Humphrey Smith, owner of the Samuel Smith Brewery, peremptorily closing\none of their pubs early in October. Well, at least that pub had been open.\nSmith\u2019s bought a pub, the Lower Ship, in Reading\nsometime in the 1980s and although they have kept it licensed, it has never\nopened. Smith\u2019s own 37 pubs in London\nso have a significant presence. Sadly, far too few of them serve real ale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SYD\u2019S\nBEER <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

T<\/strong>o add to my comments in the last\nedition, By The Horns brewery, where Syd Bennett was a regular at the tap room,\nhave produced a commemorative beer in his honour. It is called Banjo Syd and is\na 4.1% ABV rye amber ale. I\u2019m pleased to confirm that the Jazzers are indeed\nstill going strong and can usually be found in the Sultan, South\n Wimbledon, on the last Sunday of the month (4 to 7pm). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

IT\u2019S\nNOT JUST PUBS\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A<\/strong>ccording to a news item I saw somewhere on \u2018social media\u2019, the number of restaurants in the UK fell by 3.4% in the year to June. This equates to 18 closures per week. Most affected were Chinese restaurants at 7.3%, although there may be structural reasons for that with a generation of owners reaching retirement age. Chinese take-aways are however still doing well.
Compiled, except where credited, by Tony Hedger<\/em><\/strong> \ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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