§ Mr. Greg Knightasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) by what means and over what period of time he is monitoring the effects in Scotland of the introduction of flexible licensing hours;
(2) when he expects to have reached a conclusion about the effect of the introduction of flexible licensing hours in Scotland; if he will publish in due course the evidence upon which he bases his conclusions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AncramThe Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 introduced the facility of occasional or regular extensions to permitted hours of opening. A survey by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys immediately before the Act came into operation, with follow-up surveys in March 1977 and November 1978, indicated that the Act had led to no signifiant change in the average consumption of alcohol, but that those drinking tended to do so at a more leisurely pace.
As he said in reply on 27 March 1984 to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, West (Lord James Douglas-Hamilton) at column 141, my right hon. friend has decided that further surveys should be carried out to bring up to date our information about the working of the Act. These will take place later this year with a view to submission of a report in 1985.