Written question asked by Stephen Hepburn (Labour) on Friday, 25 November 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 29 November 2011. It was answered by Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 30 November 2011 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Beer: Competition

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many breaches of codes of practice by pub companies with their tenants (a) in Jarrow constituency, (b) in South Tyneside, (c) in the north-east and (d) nationally have been reported in the last 12 months.

Answer: The Government do not maintain figures on how many breaches of the codes of practice have occurred. Oversight of the codes of practice is the responsibility of the British Institute of Innkeeping Benchmark and Accreditation Service.The Government recently announced a range of significant reforms in the pub industry, including for the industry framework code to be strengthened and made legally binding, as well as the establishment of an independent conciliation and arbitration service to resolve disputes relating to the code. The Government's reforms may be found at:"http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm82/8222/8222.pdf"

Secondary information