Ian Cass, managing director of the new Forum of British pubs
The Forum of Private Business, working with the ‘Pub Defender’ Dave Mountford, has launched an offshoot, The Forum of British Pubs.
Focusing on providing support to local pubs in lockdown, and as they re-open, the forum aims to provide advice and key service offerings, as well as being a campaigning voice within government and with the pub operating companies.
Areas the forum is looking to address
• The removal of bad business practices and unfair behaviour prevalent in the hospitality industry, driven largely by the big brewing companies
• Balancing of the power currently in the hands of the pubcos fairly across the industry, enabling the pubs to make a decent living while acting ethically and in the interests of their clients
• The enforcement of the intentions of the Pub Code set out to protect pubs, but currently with limited power in the hands of the Pubs Code Adjudicator
• The provision to the government of an informed representative body to engage on issues relating to the pub trade, and the survival of pubs. Hitherto, the government has tended to default to the main pubcos, says the forum, which has inevitably created a bias towards the pubcos and away from the pubs themselves.
• Providing a trusted voice within the industry, and a source of honest, ethical, and balanced information.
• Creation of an independent advisory body for the Pub Code Adjudicator, and the BEIS (Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy) taskforce, as an interface between the pubs themselves, the adjudicator, and the BEIS.
Dave Mountford said: “The UK pub sector has been under pressure for many years, and the current pandemic has exposed many of these issues, the fragility of parts of the sector, and the need for real change.”
Managing director of the new forum, Ian Cass, added: “The Forum of British Pubs has been formed to protect and preserve British pubs and the publicans who operate them. We aim to support the free trade and tenanted pub sector, giving them practical, proactive, and preventative advice, and support, as well as being a strong campaigning voice with government and the pub operating companies.”
