Government re-appoints Pubs Code Adjudicator
Fiona Dickie has been re-appointed as the Pubs Code Adjudicator.
The Government has re-appointed Fiona Dickie as Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) for a further 3-year period. On her re-appointment, Fiona said:
I am delighted to be reappointed as the Pubs Code Adjudicator which affords the unique opportunity to continue to contribute to the Code’s positive impact.
Much progress has been made in restoring balance in the relationship between tied pub tenants and pub-owning businesses through embedding cultural change in the tied sector so that tenants’ businesses can thrive. I am proud of the PCA’s success in reducing arbitration cases and successfully completing the first investigation under the Code.
I will continue the important work to promote transparency and responsible compliance behaviours and, through improved communication and early engagement with the sector, help to avoid formal disputes while ensuring tenants’ Code rights are protected.
The PCA is responsible for enforcing the statutory Pubs Code (the Code), which regulates the relationship between large pub-owning businesses and their tied pub tenants in England and Wales.
The PCA has powers to arbitrate individual disputes about the Code, investigate suspected breaches by pub-owning businesses and impose sanctions, including financial penalties, when there is non-compliance.
The PCA provides advice and guidance about the Code and leads a team based in Birmingham.
About Fiona Dickie
Fiona Dickie was appointed as the PCA in May 2020 for a 4-year term, ending on 2 May 2024. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Pubs Code Adjudicator from November 2017 until May 2020. Fiona was called to the Bar in 1993. She has been a Vice President of the Valuation Tribunal for England from 2009 until 2020 and was appointed Judge of First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in 2013 (after serving as a Lawyer Chair of its predecessor tribunal from 2006). She was also appointed as a Road User Charging Adjudicator in 2004. Fiona has been a mediator in civil disputes since 2005 and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2018.
Additional information
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment (SBEE) Act 2015 required the introduction of a statutory Pubs Code and the appointment of a Pubs Code Adjudicator. The Code governs the relationship between large pub-owning businesses, which own 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, and their tied tenants.
The Government must review the operation of the Code and the performance of the PCA every three years. A report on the second statutory review, for the period from April 2019 – March 2022, was published in October 2023. This concluded the PCA to have been effective in enforcing the Code over the review period, particularly in reducing arbitration cases and successfully completing the first investigation under the Code.
Fiona Dickie will continue as the PCA for a further 3-year term following on from her current term which ends on 2 May 2024. This appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and has been made in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.