The Campaign for Real Ale has accused the pubs code adjudicator of presiding over “12 months of confusion and delay” in his efforts to deal with unfair practices by the big tenanted pub companies.
The criticism of Paul Newby comes days after a group of 12 pub operators described the adjudicator as “a rabbit in headlights” for his perceived inaction in regulating the relationship between the pub companies and their tenants.
Camra is calling on Mr Newby to publish a breakdown of arbitration cases for each company and to provide clear guidance on key aspects of the code.
In particular, it highlights confusion over market-rent only lease agreements that allow pub tenants to break the so-called beer tie and buy their supplies wholesale at a cheaper price.
A spokesman for the adjudicator said that he would be publishing the 12-month figures on arbitrations next Wednesday but cases were confidential.