Memorandum submitted by the Licensed Trade
Charity
We receive over 250 calls a year from licensees
struggling with their pub and asking for guidance and in many
cases support to help them eg to find accommodation. The Welfare
Dept do not keep a record, but can confidently say that the majority
are from lessees of pub companies.
We have seen a very significant increase in
the number of people asking for help, of working age and struggling
with their pub. However, as we have increased awareness of the
support we offer, we cannot say that this increase is due to a
change in the marketplace situation or as a result of this increased
profile. As a priority we encourage the lessee to talk to their
landlord to help resolve their situation. Both Punch and Enterprise
have provided us with names of people within their organisation
that can be contacted if the lessee finds the response from their
local contact/regional manager unsatisfactory.
To assist with the increase in calls regarding
business problems, we will be trialling a new service where the
licensee could qualify for a mentor to visit their pub to help
facilitate their thinking on where to go forward. Again, this
would be after they had exhausted an attempt to resolve the situation
with their pub co and would not be with the objective of providing
advise.
We are not a campaigning organisation. Our objective
is to look after the welfare of the individuals working in the
trade and their families. We do not provide any business guidance
to those calling us. We may refer them on to specialist helpliness
eg debt line.
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