Prospective
AvoidanceS
19Reports on avoidanceS
(1)The adjudicator must report to the Scottish Ministers on cases of pub-owning businesses engaging in avoidance activity.
(2)In subsection (1), “avoidance activity” means acts or omissions (or both) by a pub-owning business that are—
(a)unfair, and
(b)engaged in by the business in order to avoid, to the detriment of a tied-pub tenant, the operation of provision made by or under this Act.
(3)A report under subsection (1) must include recommendations as to—
(a)action to be taken to prevent pub-owning businesses from engaging in the activity reported on, and
(b)how to provide redress for tied-pub tenants affected by those activities.
(4)Within 3 months of receiving a report under subsection (1), the Scottish Ministers must make publicly available a statement setting out—
(a)what action they intend to take to protect tied-pub tenants from the activities reported on by the adjudicator, or
(b)if they do not intend to take any such action, the reasons for that decision.