Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021 implementation - food and drink: equality impact assessment

Recommendations and Conclusion

The EqIA has not identified any positive or negative substantial impacts on equality. However, this is based mostly on weak evidence from surveys in England and Wales, and the EqIA has identified considerable data gaps regarding the demographics of the Tied Pubs sector in Scotland. We have tried to capture this by working with representative organisations, but it was not possible to access this due to a low response by tenants to a representative organisation's survey.

The issue of data gaps shall be raised with the Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator. We will ask the Adjudicator to consider equality considerations in its communications and engagement with the sector, for example by making its website accessible and ensuring that there are different ways for tenants and pub-owning businesses to communicate such as telephone and post.

In general, successful implementation of the Act would mean that the position of tied pub tenants is improved and there is a fairer tied pub sector in terms of the share of risk and reward between tenants and pub-owning businesses. This should minimise discrimination on any basis, protected characteristic or otherwise.

Scottish Ministers are required to review the Scottish Pubs Code and the performance of the Adjudicator over the first two years of operation and then at three yearly intervals thereafter. Consideration of equality issues will form part of this review.