Caroline Nodder: We need practical solutions and we need to get results. Fast

Hearsay. Not just a really bad reality show pop band, but also a dangerous thing to believe. And within the pub sector hearsay has been prevalent in recent times as people pass on speculation and rumour as fact.

So for our latest Publican​ Directors Club event it seemed timely to ask three of the trade groups about which much has been rumoured and speculated to give their side of the story.

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) have rarely if ever spoken publicly at the same event together about what they believe their role is within our troubled sector. Indeed, most of their communication recently has been done behind closed doors, most notably at the failed mediation meetings last year.

So I for one was quite interested to see what sort of debate would ensue when I asked them all to present their views on 'Life After Luff' - not least to hear what they all thought of each other, given the rumoured in-fighting that has tarnished their images somewhat.

Whether or not hearsay about their inter-relationships is true, they certainly presented a united front on the night in question - agreeing on many points and stressing a spirit of compromise and co-operation on other more mootable ones. They were open to questions, willing to discuss with each other the best way forward, they said, and had in fact come to the event straight from a series of more formal closed door meetings intended to bash out a way forward on the beer tie.

And at the event they seemed to be making all the right noises about partnership and coalitions and making sure the trade had a voice.

However, as I said on the night, the proof of all these broad statements and assurances will be in the eating - and to be frank I have been hearing the same kind of things said by the leaders of our industry now for almost 15 years. We need to work together. We need a voice to government. We need to recruit the right people. We need to tackle beer duty. We need to project a positive image for pubs. We need to stop the in-fighting.

Yes, we do need to do all those things. We have needed to do all those things for two decades. But the point is that talking about it is one thing - in all that time no-one has actually come up with an effective plan and done something about it.

I have to say I didn't feel that anyone at the Publican ​Directors Club event last week came up with anything concrete, new or impressive enough to drive real change either. It was all a bit vague, a bit woolly for my liking.

And 'woolly' is not something this industry can afford to be at the moment. I have said it before but we need to cut the cr*p.

We don't have time for platitudes or promises any more - we need practical solutions and we need to get results. Fast.