§ Mr. ChallenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to reduce the regulatory burden on public houses. [68867]
§ Dr. HowellsI have been asked to reply.
Our plans for the modernisation of the alcohol and entertainment licensing regimes were set out clearly in the White Paper "Time for Reform" (Cm.4696) published on 10 April 2000. Alcohol and public entertainment licensing will be integrated into a single scheme. This will remove at a stroke a considerable amount of existing red tape and reduce licensing costs. Our estimate is that the existing costs of the licensing regimes to industry of around £4–5 billion over ten years would be reduced by £1.9 billion under the new regime. The reforms will be implemented by means of primary legislation to be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time permits.