A
BILL
TO
Require the Secretary of State to introduce a statutory code of practice to
require certain pub owning companies to provide their tied lessees with a
guest beer option and the option to become free of tie accompanied by an open
market rent review; and for connected purposes.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
In this Act “tied public house” means any public house subject to—
(a) exclusive purchasing obligations; or
(b) minimum purchasing obligations.
(1)
The Secretary of State must within 6 months of this Act being passed, by order,
approve a code of practice which—
(a)
appears to the Secretary of State to promote desirable practices relating
directly or indirectly to the management and operation of tied public
10houses;
(b)
provides lessees and tenants of tied public houses with an option to
extinguish any exclusive purchasing obligation or minimum
purchasing obligation accompanied, without fine or premium, by an
open market rent in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered
15Surveyors rental guidance at rent review, lease renewal or upon a new
letting;
(c)
provides lessees and tenants of tied public houses with an exemption
from any exclusive purchasing obligation for the purchase of at least
one real ale of the tenant’s or lessee’s choice; and
(d)
20makes provision for compensation to lessees and tenants for any breach
of the code of practice.
Tied Public Houses (Code of Practice) BillPage 2
(2)
The code of practice approved under powers in subsection (1) shall be known
as the Tied Public Houses Code of Practice.
(3)
Provisions of the Tied Public Houses Code of Practice implementing
subsection (1)(b) and (c) shall not apply where persons benefiting from the
5exclusive purchasing obligation or minimum purchase obligation have an
interest in 500 or fewer tied public houses.
(4)
The Secretary of State may by order, if he considers it appropriate to do so,
make modifications to the Tied Public Houses Code of Practice.
(5)
The Secretary of State must within 6 months of this Act being passed approve
10a mechanism to adjudicate on breaches of the Tied Public House Code of
Practice.
(1)
The Secretary of State shall within 12 months of this Act being passed, by order,
require all persons with an interest in tied public houses to comply with the
15Tied Public Houses Code of Practice.
(2)
A person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with an order of the
Secretary of State under this section shall be liable on conviction on indictment
or on summary conviction to a fine which shall not exceed the statutory
maximum.
(3) 20For the purposes of this section—
(a)
anything done by a person in the course of his employment shall be
treated as done by his employer as well as by him, whether or not it was
done with the employer’s knowledge or approval, unless the employer
shows that he took such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent
25the employee from doing that act, or from doing in the course of his
employment acts of that description; and
(b)
anything done by a person as agent for another person with the
authority (whether express or implied, and whether precedent or
subsequent) of that person shall be treated as done by that other person
30as well as by him; and
(c)
anything done by a business associate of a person shall be treated as
done by that person as well, unless he can show that the act was done
without his connivance or consent.
(1)
35In any proceedings before a court or tribunal the failure on the part of any
persons to comply with any provision of the Tied Public Houses Code of
Practice approved under section 2(1) shall be admissible in evidence.
(2)
Any provision of the Tied Public Houses Code of Practice approved under
section 2(1) which appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant to any
40question arising in the proceedings shall be taken into account in determining
that question.
(1)
A power to make an order under this Act is exercisable by statutory
instrument.
Tied Public Houses (Code of Practice) BillPage 3
(2)
A statutory instrument under this Act may not be made unless a draft of the
instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House
of Parliament.
5There is to be paid out of money provided by Parliament—
(a)
any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act by the Secretary of
State, and
(b)
any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other Act
out of money so provided.
(1) This Act may be cited as the Tied Public Houses (Code of Practice) Act 2011.
(2) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.
(3) This Act extends to England and Wales only.