Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act paused pending court appeal
Ministers will pause the implementation of the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021, following an interim order made in the Court of Session, the Scottish Government has confirmed.
Ivan McKee, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, has written to the tied pubs sector, following the order, obtained on the motion of pub companies seeking judicial review of the legislation as beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
The companies claim the Act, which brings in new protections for tenants of tied pubs, relates to the reserved matter of competition. Lord Harrower rejected their arguments at first instance, but an appeal by the companies is due to be heard later this year.
In the meantime the companies sought an interim order seeking to prevent ministers going ahead with statutory orders concerning the Scottish Pubs Code and the role and appointment of the Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator. Ministers opposed the motion but on 27 February Lord Malcolm granted an order which effectively pauses the implementation of the Act until the appeal has concluded.
It means that no secondary legislation, such as the Scottish Pubs Code, can be laid in Parliament, nor can the Adjudicator be appointed. Section 4 of the Act, setting the timescale for implementation, has been suspended.
Mr McKee's letter concluded: "There remains an overarching obligation on the Scottish ministers to bring the Act into effective operation and we are committed to doing so. We will continue with our preparatory work to make this happen as soon as the judicial review appeal is complete, assuming it is in our favour."