In a regular series for WB Online, the CAMRA Campaigns Team shares the work that has been going on across Westminster, the devolved parliaments and local government to campaign in support of consumers, pubs, clubs, cider and perry.  

We’re back with our update ahead of the summer parliamentary recesses, when MPs and elected representatives across the UK will (hopefully) be taking time to visit pubs, clubs, brewers and cider makers in their own constituencies and regions. We’ll still be busy though – there are plenty of consultations on important policy issues that need a response preparing, and a Budget to look ahead to in the autumn.

PUB CLOSURE DATA

We released our new pub closure data for 2021, which was accompanied by some key policy asks for government across the UK. You can see the press release here. While permanent closures (demolitions and conversions) were lower than we expected in 2021 (with a small net positive for half of the year) we’re really concerned that the cost of living rise will mean the 2022 report will be a nightmare unless government acts on multiple fronts.

SUMMER RECESS

With the long recess approaching, we have been encouraging branches to invite their local elected representatives to events as part of the Summer of Pub campaign, to build relationships and to speak to them about current issues facing consumers and the licensed trade.  

WESTMINSTER

Alcohol duty review 

We are still waiting for an announcement on the next stage of the review. We are expecting a further announcement from the Treasury, which will launch another round of consultation and then legislation to bring the scheme in for around the time of the autumn Budget. We’re very much hoping for the Treasury to announce a change on the proposed 40L container threshold for the draught duty rate before the next round on consultation, where we expect to see further details on what the vital small producer reliefs will look like.  

Campaign for an extra bank holiday 

We supported calls for a new, additional, bank holiday to boost business for pubs, clubs, brewers and cider makers. Our press release on that is here. 

Cider Month and minimum cider juice content 

An open letter to the Treasury was produced as part of May Cider and Perry Month, with producers encouraged to join calls to increase the minimum juice content for duty purposes from its current level of 35 per cent to at least 50. The letter was sent at the end of May, with 30 producers signing it.

Pubs Code (England and Wales) 

The second statutory review of the Pubs Code has now started. You can see the call for evidence here. We will be preparing a detailed response and are planning a similar data collection exercise as carried out for the previous review (where we surveyed tied tenants covered by the code). Civil servants have told us that they will be in touch shortly to arrange informal consultation meetings as part of the review. 

Weights and measures legislation

Over the Jubilee weekend, the government released new guidance on using the Crown marking and started a consultation on changes to weights and measures legislation to allow for use of imperial scales in certain transactions. We will be using this opportunity to call for the right to a 100 per cent liquid pint to be defined in legislation. You can read more here.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) 

Ellie Hudspith (CAMRA senior campaigns manager) attended the first meeting of DEFRA’s Drinks Industry Forum – other organisations represented include SIBA, BII, BPPA, WSTA, Portman Group, Heineken, Thatcher’s, AB InBev, Diageo, and some other brewers and wine and spirits producers. DEFRA deals with some issues of key interest to CAMRA right now, including ingredient labelling, deposit return schemes and other supply chain and environmental issues.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) 

DLUHC has published the draft Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. We’re now working with Paul Ainsworth (CAMRA’s national planning policy advisor) and Planning Advisory Group (PAG) to identify opportunities for lobbying to ensure these changes are positive for pub protection.  

All-Party Parliamentary Pub Group – secretariat provided by CAMRA   

The Pubs Group held a successful AGM with Charlotte Nicholls MP continuing as chair. This marks a year since we took over the secretariat service. In that time, we have increased the total membership of the Group and conducted an inquiry into the impact of the pandemic on pubs, the communities that use them, and the people that work in them. We’ve been busy as the group has received a number of invitations to political and industry events, including an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) chairs dinner hosted by the beer group which aims to bring together chairs of relevant APPGs to discuss industry focussed approaches to reducing alcohol harm.

The Parliamentary Pub of the Year award will be relaunched shortly, with MPs able to nominate up to three pubs from their constituencies in a range of categories. The Campaigns Team is currently working to secure industry partners to sponsor categories and help publicise the awards. 

You can also see the work that the Pub Group is doing on its website – www.apppg.camra.org.uk   

All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group 

CAMRA chief executive Tom Stainer attended a tour of Fuller’s brewery organised by the Beer Group, which was well attended by MPs. He had the opportunity to speak to MPs about general government support for pubs and brewers and about the reducing the minimum container size to qualify for the new draught duty rate to 20L – as well as lobbying for the change to alcohol duty to be accelerated, if possible, to help the licensed trade. 

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Cross Party Group on Beer and Pubs – secretariat provided in part by CAMRA

The group held an evidence session with representatives from across the licensed trade to hear concerns about the Scottish government’s proposals to introduce its deposit return scheme next year. A formal report looking into the impact on consumers and the industry will be published later this summer. In the meantime the group has asked to meet with the minister responsible, Lorna Slater MSP, to discuss the costs, complexities and consequences of the scheme. 

A brew with your MSP scheme has been launched allowing MSPs to visit a local brewery to learn more about the issues facing the industry. 

We will be contacting MSPs ahead of the Scottish Parliament’s summer recess to encourage them to visit, support and promote pubs in their constituencies as part of our Summer of Pub campaign. 

Planning 

The Scottish government has launched a consultation on changes to permitted development rights and use class orders. You can read that here. This includes a proposal for a “general town centre use class” which would not require permission for change of use within this general classification. The Scottish government suggests that sui generis uses including pubs could form part of this new general use class and is seeking views through this consultation. The proposals also include making it easier for furniture to be placed outside venues, once Covid-19-specific guidance on this issue expires later this year. There is no proposal to close the loophole that allows freestanding pubs in Scotland to be demolished without planning permission. This consultation will allow us to make the case that changing permitted development rights to close this loophole should be taken forward by the Scottish government at the same time as any other changes.

Scottish Pubs Code  

We made a formal submission to the second of a two-part consultation on the forthcoming statutory pubs code. This consultation covered issues including rent assessments and reviews, repairs and dilapidations, fines and fees for arbitration. We are awaiting a formal response to both consultations, as well as recommendations and draft legislation from the Scottish government on what the code will look like, ahead of its formal introduction next year. However, we have heard from the minister responsible, Ivan McKee MSP, that he does not think it possible under the legislation to limit the guest beer provision for tied tenants to beers from small breweries. This means the guest beer provision is likely to be open to any brand of beer under the 60,000hl threshold including from multinational brewers – we worked with trade associations such as SIBA to raise concerns about this earlier in the year.

Caledonian brewery 

We have issued a response to the decision by Heineken to close Caledonian brewery in Edinburgh, which you can read here. We are also supporting the Edinburgh branch and Scotland and Northern Ireland director with their local campaigning on the closure.

SENEDD CYMRU

Cross Party Group on Beer and Pubs - secretariat provided in part by CAMRA

The first event of the relaunched group, a tasting of Welsh beers with MSs and industry representatives, is taking place on 5 July. The group is planning to hold an inquiry into the Welsh government’s proposals for a deposit return scheme. We will be contacting MSs ahead of the Senedd’s summer recess to encourage them to visit, support and promote pubs in their constituencies as part of our Summer of Pub campaign. 

Planning and community assets 

We are awaiting a response from the Welsh government to its consultation on changes to permitted development rights. We submitted a response making a case for strengthening planning protections for pubs, to ensure communities always have a chance to object before a pub can be converted or demolished. The Welsh Parliament’s Local Government and Housing Committee is undertaking an inquiry into barriers and opportunities for communities to acquire assets of community value. We will be submitting a response to its inquiry focusing on proposals to improve the planning system as well as community rights and support services to improve the ability for the community-owned pubs sector in Wales to thrive. 

NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY

Elections 

Thanks to everyone who emailed their candidates before the election, 19 out of the 90 MLAs elected at the Assembly signed our election pledge focusing on fundamental reforms of the licensing system in NI. There is still no prospect of an executive forming, and so there is no prospect yet of a new minister for communities (with responsibility for alcohol licensing policy) being appointed. We will be contacting MLAs ahead of the Assembly’s summer recess to encourage them to visit, support and promote pubs in their constituencies as part of our Summer of Pub campaign.

Licensing law reform 

The beginning of June saw the introduction of the ability of alcoholic drinks producers to apply to run taprooms on 104 evenings per year. It seems that most breweries and cider producers do not think the cost and complexity of doing so under this new law is worthwhile, and so some have opened full-time taprooms by purchasing an existing pub licence (at considerable expense). We will be asking the Department for Communities to look at these aspects as part of its post-legislative reviews of changes to the law passed in 2021. We are also calling on the Department for Communities to ensure it appoints a genuinely independent person to chair an upcoming review of Northern Ireland’s licensing system, including the surrender principle which means no new licences have been created since 1902. We used the first Belfast Beer Week as an opportunity to raise awareness of the review. You can read about that here.

Minimum unit pricing 

We have responded to the Northern Ireland Department for Health’s consultation on introducing minimum unit pricing (MUP) of alcohol, following our national policy of a 50p per unit price, for increases in that figure to be limited to the Consumer Prices Index, and for research to be carried out into the impact of MUP on the on-trade. 

That’s all for this PUBlic Affairs Round Up – we’ll be back soon to let you know about the latest government-facing campaigning taking place across the UK. As always, if any CAMRA member wants campaigning advice, or has questions about what we are up to, the Campaigns Team is here to help – just email campaigns@camra.org.uk 

Ellie Hudspith, Paul Edgeworth and Cam Weddell – the CAMRA Campaigns Team.