A committee of MPs has called upon the Competition Commission to launch an investigation into whether the beer-tie arrangements used by pub companies is pushing up drinks prices.

According to the Business and Enterprise Select Committee, pub companies such as Punch Taverns, Enterprise Inns and Greene King – that force tenants into buying beer exclusively from them – are creating an "ever-increasing disparity" between on and off-licence beer prices. The committee, which is chaired by Peter Luff MP, ruled that it was the government's duty to investigate any failure and abuse of the market, and has called upon the Competition Commission for an urgent investigation into the current arrangements in the interests of consumers and tenants.

"There are strong indications that the existence of the tie pushes up prices not just to lessees, but to consumers," said the report. "However, we are wary of simply recommending that it should be abolished; such a move might simply increase the power of brewers or distributors. "The Office of Fair Trading has declined to act in the past, so we recommend that the secretary of state refer the matter to the Competition Commission for urgent investigation by a body which has no vested interest in defending its earlier position."