Alcohol Licences (Hansard, 15 June 2004)

§ Mr. Caborn

Alcohol licences are granted by licensing justices and, where available, statistics are broken down by petty sessions areas and not by local authority areas. Generally, no justices' licences permit the sale or consumption of alcohol all night. This is the effect of section 60 of the Licensing Act 1964 which details the permitted hours for the sale and supply of alcohol from licensed premises. There are however four exceptions. Firstly, all on-licensed premises are able to sell alcohol all night on each New Year's Eve unless the premises are subject to a restriction order. Secondly, the 1964 Act does not prohibit or restrict the sale or supply of alcohol to, or its consumption by, any person in any licensed premises where he is residing, or the supply for consumption by any private friends of such a person who are being entertained by that person at his own expense. Thirdly, the 1964 Act does not prohibit or restrict the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises to persons employed there for the purposes of the business carried on by the holder of a justices' licence if the alcohol is supplied at the expense of their employer or the person carrying on or in charge of the business on the premises. Fourthly, under section 74 of the 1964 Act, justices of the peace on application from premises situated in the immediate neighbourhood of a public market or place where people follow a lawful trade or calling, may grant an order adding, either generally or for such days as may be specified in the order such hours as may be so specified, to the permitted hours in those premises. These are commonly called "general orders of exemption". There are no centrally held statistics on the numbers or dispersal of general orders of exemption. However, the number permitting the sale or supply of800W alcohol all night in connection with a public market (for example, Smithfields Meat Market in London) is believed to be very small.