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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:—

1 Interpretation

In this Act “tied public house” means any public house subject to—

(a) exclusive purchasing obligations; or

(b) minimum purchasing obligations.

2 5Code of practice

(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.

3 Enforcement

(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.

4 Applicability

(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.

5 Orders

(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.

6 Financial provisions

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.

7 10Short title, commencement and extent

(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.

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