Unite: Action needed to help pubs now

More than 100 licensees have contacted trade union Unite in the last month alone due to fears of being evicted.

In total 117 tenants facing eviction have raised their concerns with Unite and Justice for Licensees, the campaign group it is working alongside.

The groups are set to raise the issue at a meeting with Kevin Brennan MP, who was recently appointed minister for further education, skills, apprenticeships and consumer affairs.

Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for the hospitality industry, said she welcomes efforts of mediation between various bodies across the trade but added swift action is needed now to help licensees.

She said: "Our members cannot afford to wait long for a solution. We are fully committed to the mediation process and to working with all stakeholders in the industry to find a way forward.

"But our members are desperate. As our latest evidence shows, for far too many it is already too late to save their pubs and their livelihoods. We all must do everything within our power to stop the decimation of the pub trade."

Inez Ward, from Justice for Licensees, who is herself subject to an eviction notice at her Newquay pub Mavericks, said: "It is heartbreaking to see so many licensees having their lives destroyed, and I'm getting angrier everyday as most of these evictions could have been avoided.

"Yes people are starting to listen, but we need urgent action if we are to save the industry before it is irrevocably damaged."