Mark Lazarowicz MP is one of the signatories of a Motion being debated in Parliament today calling for urgent action by the Government to tackle the increasing number of pub closures with 25 pubs closing each week in the UK.
He is calling on the UK Government to follow through on proposals by the last Government to give licencees better protection and reform practices such as the beer tie under which large brewers can force tenants to buy all of their beer from the company that owns the pub.
Mark said:-“The hike in VAT in January last year coupled with Government complacency has led to crisis for many licences. It has meant the loss of thousands of jobs and millions of pounds in revenue for the Exchequer and just as importantly poses a threat to local communities across the UK.
The UK Government has chosen to ignore the call by a cross-party Committee of MPs for action to give pub tenants a fairer deal. It must think again.
As businesses pubs are important to the local economy but they are also vital to community life and the Government can’t just turn its back on the problems facing licencees.”
In spite of promises made in opposition and recent recommendations by the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, the MP also says that Ministers have refused to introduce a statutory code to protect pub tenants or take forward plans to offer tenants a non-tied option.
A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research shows that beer-tied pubs are 16% more likely to hit financial problems than pubs not tied, and that 88% of pub owners in financial difficulty identify the beer tie as a major cause.
