Hansard

I, too, congratulate my Labour colleague Neil Bibby on getting the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Bill to stage 3. I recognise all the hard work that he has put in to get it here, as well as the contributions from all the witnesses who gave evidence that was considered by the committee.

As we have heard, the bill is supported by Scotland’s trade unions, CAMRA and many pubs across the country. It puts power in the hands of consumers and tenants, rather than multinational pub companies, and it is an important step in bringing tied pubs in Scotland into line with those in England and Wales, which FSB Scotland identified as being important to the sector. As others have said, it is vital that we support the sector, and I am glad that the small pubs in our communities will get the flexibility and new choices that they need.

Hospitality is a key sector in our economy, and, as we build back from the pandemic, I am pleased that the bill will give pubs more choices and more support as they begin to think about opening again. As the Society of Independent Brewers said, it is important to open up opportunities for

“small brewers … to provide the craft beer that more and more consumers are demanding.”

As GMB Scotland said, the bill is also about “creating and safeguarding” jobs in our Scottish breweries. There is much to look forward to when the bill is passed.

The bill requires the Scottish Government to make regulations that will change the relationship between tied pubs and pub-owning businesses to ensure that there is fair and lawful trading; that tied pubs should be no worse off than free-of-tie equivalents; and that tied agreements should provide a fair share of risk and reward. It gets rid of voluntary self-regulation and introduces statutory regulation, which means that there will be a clearer set of rules. I am glad that the bill will bring all of that into play.

In addition, the market-rent-only option allows a publican to opt out of their tied agreement and pay a market rent only for their premises. The evidence from England and Wales shows that MRO rights give tenants leverage to negotiate fairer deals, even if they do not choose to go free of the tie. The bill is about choices and fairness, and I hope that it will support our hospitality sector.

It will also provide for something that I suspect one or two colleagues in the chamber will like. Tied publicans will have the right to stock one beer of their choosing, which will allow them to respond to consumer demand and make their pub more profitable. That provision will also support our Scottish and independent brewers, which has to be good news for Scotland. The bill will change the landscape for tied pub tenants, bringing greater equality to the relationship between tenants and pubcos and opening up a bigger market for Scotland’s brewers. I am delighted to support this Labour bill today.

I have been thinking about all the comments from members about the work that Neil Bibby has done and about his negotiating and persuasion skills. I attended a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference on getting organised for COP26—the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties. The last session was about negotiating skills and how to get the Government to do something that it does not initially agree with. In the future, Neil Bibby will be able to talk to members about how to go from proposing a members’ bill that may not work to taking the bill through the legislative process, with a lot of hard work by the lead committee, and getting support from Parliament. The bill is a great example of that, and I hope that all members will support it at decision time.