Amendments tabled in the House of Lords by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, a minister for the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), have been labelled by Fair Deal for Your Local campaigners as an attempt “to bulldoze through amendments without the dialogue and consultation promised”.
Campaigners claim the replacement of clause 42 — which deals with the market-rent only option (MRO) — was not discussed with tenant representative groups, and have warned that the Government risks another parliamentary defeat over its plans.
Fair Pint campaigner Simon Clarke said one revised clause meant existing tenants would not have the option of a parallel rent assessment, meaning a tied tenant would be unable to determine whether they are worse off than if they were free-of-tie — a key principle of the Bill.
There was also lack of clarity on the trigger points of when MRO applies in specific circumstances, such as if a pubco falls into administration and the pub is sold to another landlord.
'Workable'
In a statement, BIS said: “The Government accepts, in principle, the introduction of an MRO clause but wants to make sure it is workable in practice, legally robust and that we minimise the risk of unintended consequences. The new clauses we have tabled aim to achieve this.
“BIS officials and ministers have had discussions with Fair Deal campaigners and representatives from across the pubs sector, including tenant representatives and pub companies and their representatives.
“We are willing to work with stakeholders to explain anything they find confusing and listen to any points about things they feel are unworkable, as we have done through this process.”
Peers are scheduled to discuss the changes further on Wednesday (28 Jan). This will be followed by Report Stage and then Third Reading, after which the House of Commons will consider any amendments made.