Hospitality venues will be able to open into the early hours as part of Labour Party government’s drive for economic growth.
New pub rules in England and Wales in push for UK growth
There are new rules for pubs, clubs and restaurants in England and Wales in a push for UK growth. Hospitality venues will be able to open into the early hours as part of Labour Party government’s drive for economic growth.
Ministers are pushing ahead with plans to allow premises that sell alcohol to extend their opening hours in order to boost “the British night out”.
The changes would “allow an open all hours free-for-all in the availability of alcohol”, said Dr Katherine Severi, the chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies thinktank.
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But Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, said that “a new and improved licensing system that is fit for the 21st century will be a huge boost to the nation’s pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels”.
“These proposed reforms, developed without adequate input from policing, ambulance services, local licensing authorities, health experts or citizens are a charter for chaos,” said Dr Richard Piper, the chief executive of the charity Alcohol Change UK.
“One of the biggest things that people across the country are desperate to see is safer streets with less antisocial behaviour.
“Yet these proposals – little more than an alcohol industry wish-list – would deliver the opposite.”
“Allowing petrol stations, off-licences and corner shops to sell alcohol even later into the evening, or the early hours, will inevitably mean more victims of crime, including domestic violence, more antisocial behaviour and disturbance, more police time spent dealing with drink-fuelled incidents and both ambulance and A&E staff having to deal with even more people who have come to harm as a result of alcohol,” he added.
A government spokesperson said: “We are looking to rebalance the licensing system, to one which both protects local communities and gives businesses the flexibility they need to invest and adapt to changing consumer trends.”