Frequently asked questions
Why has the Office of Fair Trading, in your view, failed in this area?
Why can't CAMRA simply issue a further super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)?
What else is CAMRA doing to overturn the Office of Fair Trading Decision?
What did CAMRA want the OFT to do?
In our super-complaint we asked the OFT to conduct a full market study to assess the scale of consumer detriment caused by the operation of the beer tie by the large pub companies. Following this, we requested that the OFT agreed legally binding undertakings with the large pub companies to make their beer tie arrangements more competitive. We suggested the following as suitable remedies:
To encourage tying pub companies to be competitive on tied beer prices and to address access to market for small brewers, CAMRA proposed a guest beer right to allow one draught real ale to be purchased outside the tie
Improvements to the system of calculating pub rents especially for tied pubs
A public information campaign on the costs and benefits of pub-owning company "tied" lease agreements
A end to the use of restrictive covenants and a commitment that existing covenants in the pub market will not be enforced
When issuing new leases of five years or longer the large pub-owning companies should be required to provide a "free-of-tie" option
Where a pub-owning company decides to sell a pub they must first offer it for sale to the existing lessee
If the above remedies could not have been agreed as legally binding undertakings CAMRA requested a full market investigation by the Competition Commission.
The OFT instead choose to do nothing.
Why has the Office of Fair Trading, in your view, failed in this area?
We are concerned that the OFT may have been more interested in defending past mistakes than in conducting an objective and impartial analysis of the issues.
The Parliamentary Business and Enterprise Select Committee stated in May 2009 that it was "surprised and disappointed by the OFT's apparent reluctance to investigate whether the pub market is working well for the consumer" and concluded that "the OFT has failed to examine this market properly".
Why did you not support the Business and Enterprise Committee's recommendation that this issue should be referred to the Competition Commission instead of the OFT?
The Business and Enterprise Select Committee (BEC) issued a report earlier this year on the operation of the beer tie by large pub companies. Read the report in full here.
One of the BEC Report's recommendations was that the issue should be referred directly to the Competition Commission for a full market investigation, using the Enterprise Act 2002.
The BEC Report was mistaken in making this recommendation, as under the Enterprise Act 2002 the Government is unable to intervene until the OFT has looked at the issue.
Now that the OFT have looked at the issue but chosen to dismiss it, the Government can intervene and ask the Competition Commission to undertake a full market investigation. CAMRA has met with Government ministers asking them to do this.
Why can't CAMRA simply issue a further super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)?
As a designated consumer organisation CAMRA could issue a further complaint which the OFT would be obliged to consider. However, given the OFT's inadequate analysis of our original super-complaint we believe a ruling by the Competition Appeals Tribunal is now necessary to ensure any future OFT consideration is effective in tackling clear competition concerns.
Doesn't CAMRA support the small and regional brewer tie?
CAMRA supports the continuation of the beer tie provided it is operated as a genuine partnership and not exploited, as it currently in many cases. It is the practices of the large non brewing pub companies that are at the heart of CAMRA's campaign.
Where the beer tie is operated by members of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) tied publicans are given extensive support. This support means that the IFBB have a low turnover of tenants compared to the industry as a whole.
If I donate, how will you use my money?
If you decide to donate, your donation will be used specifically to support CAMRA's Consumers V OFT Campaign.
What happens if we win?
If we win it is likely the OFT will be instructed to set aside its original decision and required to reconsider.
What else is CAMRA doing to overturn the Office of Fair Trading Decision?
We have met with Government Ministers Kevin Brennan MP and Pat McFadden MP to urge them to intervene and overturn the OFT's decision. Additionally, we have also met with Peter Luff MP, Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, to urge him to support us in requesting that Ministers overturn the OFT decision and refer to the Competition Commission for a full market investigation.
We have also met with the European Commission to request that they intervene to require the OFT to reconsider its decision.
Where can I find out more?
If you are interested in learning more about our super-complaint, you can do the following:
Read the super-complaint in full here
Read the OFT's Response here
See our news page for more on the process and our reaction to the outcomes
jonathan.mail@camra.org.uk if you still have some questions on the super-complaint or tribunal
