§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) whether her Department encourages staged closing times for(a) pubs and (b) clubs in England and Wales; [151984]
(2) what discussions her Department has had with the Home Office regarding the public order implications of a standard closing time for pubs in city centres in England and Wales. [151985]
811W
§ Mr. CabornCurrent closing times are matters of legislation and extensions of these hours are matters for consideration by licensing justices under that legislation, on a case by case basis.
The Licensing Act 2003 will, when it is brought into force, allow applicants for premises licences or club premises certificates to state in their application, to the relevant licensing authority, what hours they wish to be authorized to carry out licensable activities and to stay open to the public (these times may be different). Where there are representations, relating to the licensing objectives, from interested parties or responsible authorities about opening hours the licensing authority will, in most cases, have to hold a hearing in order to decide what the opening hours should be. These decisions will be taken on a case by case basis. The 2003 Act does not require and the Guidance, to be issued by the Secretary of State under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (which will be subject to parliamentary approval), will not promote staged closing times. The Licensing Act 2003 was not designed to replace the peaks of disorder and anti-social behaviour, which currently occur at fixed closing times, with a series of smaller peaks. On the contrary, our aim is to promote, in areas where it is appropriate, generally later (but not standard) closing times for pubs and clubs, which will allow customers to disperse gradually over a longer period. We consider, for these reasons, that the 2003 Act will reduce the concentrations of people leaving premises at the same time and queuing for public transport and fast food, which can lead to disorder under the present system.
The policy underpinning the Licensing Act 2003 was originally developed in the Home Office and, since the policy responsibility was transferred to my Department in June 2001, we have continued to work closely with the Home Office on all aspects of the prevention of crime and disorder that arise in the context of licensing law.