COUNCIL officials have been accused of failing to offer clear guidance to landlords ahead of pubs reopening.

Licensing officers from Barrow Council were described as ‘clueless’ amid confusion over rules on what is allowed to take place in pubs when they reopen on Saturday.

In a meeting of landlords, it was claimed one premises owner had to look up the latest legislation on his phone after being conflicted advice by a licensing official on whether live entertainment and karaoke was allowed in venues.

Barrow Council said it is up to landlords to comply with the the latest guidelines and carry out risk assessment.

It encouraged license holders that are unclear on the rules to reach out to the authority for further advice.

A spokesman for Barrow BID Concerned Ratepayers, which says it includes some landlords among its members, said: “The council have dropped the ball by not publicising the legislation.

“I think you are letting the blind lead the blind.

“I think there’s going to be another spike if licensees are allowed to do their own thing.

“We are asking them to stand up and do their job and give guidance to licensees.”

Many landlords joined council officers in a virtual advice session ahead of pubs reopening on July 4.

Tony Callister, Barrow Borough Council spokesperson for licensing and public protection, said:

“Government guidance on the reopening of licensed premises was published on Wednesday last week and is available to all.

“While it is the responsibility of licence holders to carry out a risk assessment of their premises, the borough council is offering additional advice and support to businesses to help them with this change.

“At a recent Barwatch meeting council officers were able to answer any questions the group’s members had.

“Our team continue to be happy to speak to anyone who would like advice in relation to reopening their venue from Saturday, July 4.”

The BBCR group has also criticised Barrow’s Business Improvement District for its publicity ahead of pubs reopening their doors.

The spokesman said only ‘four’ pubs had been listed by the group as being open on Saturday.

But Colin Garnett, the BID manager, said the list, of eight establishments, was far from exhaustive.

“We can only promote businesses that ask us to promote them,” he said. “We sent an email out to landlords and those were the ones that responded.”