§ 47. Mr. Andrew MacKayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the future of the licensing laws.
§ Mr. MellorThe preliminary results from the Office of Population, Censuses and Survey's study of drinking in Scotland, published on 21 May, show that there has been some increase in consumption of alcohol in Scotland since the licensing law was changed in 1976, but that it is unlikely that the increase is a direct consequence of the change in the law. My right hon. and learned Friend will want to consider carefully all the relevant considerations including both the preliminary findings and the full report on the survey, to be published later in the year, before deciding whether relaxations in the permitted opening hours of licensed premises in England and Wales should be introduced.