§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is now their opinion that the selling of alcohol is an ancillary activity to the selling of petrol at petrol stations and whether this is expected to contribute to, or to discourage, drinking and driving.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)Section 9 of the Licensing Act 1964 prohibits the sale of alcohol from petrol stations. The aim is to discourage drinking and driving arising from casual purchases by drivers.
The courts have ruled that premises are not petrol stations for the purposes of this legislation if petrol sales do not constitute the majority of their business. If they apply for liquor licences, the licensing justices would wish to be satisfied amongst other things that there was a need for licensed premises there.