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Government ministers agree to discuss pub crisis

Five senior ministers to attend summit into future of community pubs

Five government ministers are to meet with MPs to hear Parliamentarian’s fears for the future of the pub trade.

The senior government figures have accepted Beer Group chairman John Grogan’s invitation to attend what observers are calling an unprecedented joint meeting to look at how urgently-needed help can be offered to the country’s struggling pubs.

The invitation follows the publication of figures suggesting up to 40 pubs are closing every week.

Last October the All-Party Group published a report on the mounting difficulties facing the UK’s struggling community pubs.

The report, which called on government departments to act to save the thousands of locals struggling to maintain the invaluable local services they provide, followed a three-year long investigation by the group into the trade.

While the government’s collective response to that report is yet to be delivered, Grogan decided to invite ministers from the Department of Health, the Home Office, the Treasury, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and the Department for Communities and local Government to attend a joint meeting to consider the challenge now and to address it.

The Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP, Alan Campbell MP, Angela Eagle MP, Gerry Sutcliffe MP and The Rt Hon John Healey MP have all agreed to attend.

John Grogan MP said: “The UK’s brewing and pub industry is suffering its worst period in a century or more, with hundreds of communities losing their pubs every month and dozens of businesses collapsing.

“It is now a race against time, amidst all the other problems of the recession, to get the government to take notice and to act.

“Our task is to make the future of the community pub every bit as sensitive an issue in 2009 as the future of the community post office was in 2008.”