Industry leaders have rejected calls for the start of the new licensing regime to be put on ice, after the Liberal Democrats claimed alcohol-fuelled violence was out of control.

Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat's shadow minister for Culture, Media and Sport, discovered through a parliamentary question that alcohol-fuelled violence around licensed premises had shot up by 15% in the past year in more than two-thirds (31%) of England's 43 police force areas.

Foster described plans to liberalise England and Wales's licensing regime on 24 November as reckless. "Flexible closing times may well be part of the solution but there hasn't been enough research. We need more education on alcohol abuse and greater flexibility for local authorities."

But the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said its analysis of the 2002-2003 British Crime Survey showed people were at less risk of being a victim of violent crime in and around pubs than they were in their own home or car.

A spokeswoman for the BBPA said: "No one claimed the new regime would be a panacea, but flexible opening should ease the situation on the streets. We have to allow it to come into play to see if it works."

British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) chief executive John McNamara said the experience of the Isle of Man showed deregulation could be a success. Flexible opening was introduced in 2001 and crime figures around licensed premises have declined year-on-year since then.

"It has a thriving licensing forum that involves local people and gets things done, putting pressure on the cowboys," McNamara said.
He added that flexible opening would help avoid flashpoint situations that occurred with current fixed chucking-out times, resulting in queues of drunk people trying to get a taxi or a take-away.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture Media and Sport said: "These figures are happening under the old regime and make a case for reform. New licensing laws will bring tougher powers to clamp down on the problem minority and greater freedom for the responsible majority."

The Local Government Association said its members took the prevention of crime seriously and would use their new powers under the act in the best interests of local communities.