§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what measures she has taken to allow pubs to open at later hours; [45481]
(2) what assessment she has made of the impact of pub opening hours on the binge drinking culture; [45479]
(3) what statutory restrictions there are on pubs opening at late hours; and if she will introduce legislation to allow pubs to open at any time. [45480]
§ Dr. HowellsThe White Paper "Time for Reform: Proposals for the Modernisation of Our Licensing Laws (Cm 4696)", published on 10 April 2000, set out our views on the problem of binge drinking and our plans for reforming the alcohol and public entertainment licensing laws in England and Wales, including the hours during which alcohol may be sold or supplied to the public at public houses and other premises. The existing law establishes permitted licensing hours outside of which licensed premises may not sell or serve alcohol without the special permission of licensing justices; and their consent may only be granted in particular circumstances.
The existing fixed closing times are artificially early. They actively contribute to binge drinking at the end of normal opening time, and result in significant numbers of intoxicated people on our streets simultaneously. This in turn leads to peaks of disorder around closing times. To counter and minimise public disorder resulting from fixed closing times, we intend to introduce flexible opening hours as a condition of the 905W 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. These changes require the amendment of primary legislation and we intend to introduce a Bill to that end as soon as Parliamentary time permits.