§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to review legislation governing hours of licensing for public houses. [42410]
§ Mr. Caborn[holding answer 18 March 2002]: This issue was thoroughly reviewed between 1997 and 1999. Following our review, the White Paper "Time for Reform: Proposals for the Modernisation of Our Licensing Laws (Cm 4696"), published on 10 April 2000, set out our plans for reforming the alcohol and public entertainment licensing laws, including the hours during which alcohol may be sold or supplied to the public. To counter and minimise public disorder resulting from fixed closing times, we intend to introduce flexible opening hours as a condition of the licences of each venue, with the potential for some to operate up to 24 hour opening on each day of the week, subject to consideration of the impact on local residents. We intend to introduce primary legislation to implement these proposals as soon as parliamentary time permits.