§ Mr. John Huntasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet in a position to announce the conclusions of his review of permitted opening hours for licensed premises in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdAfter carefully studying all the relevant facts, and in particular the evidence to emerge from the Scottish experience of longer opening hours, the Government believe that there is a strong case for considering some relaxation of the restrictions on licensing hours in England and Wales.
There is no obvious consensus however, on the precise nature of the changes which should be made. We believe it is important that any relaxation should maintain adequate and effective controls on licensed outlets, given the concern which exists over alcohol misuse and the need 17W to provide protection for the public against added noise and nuisance. Any change will require legislation, and I cannot give any indication at this stage of when this might be introduced. But we support the case for reform in principle.