On the first anniversary of the licensing laws in England and Wales, the government has claimed they are having a positive impact.
Although licensing minister Shaun Woodward admitted it was too early to reach firm conclusions, he revealed that the signs so far were encouraging.
The government will continue to monitor the effect of the new laws but research by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has found that, to date, over 200,000 premises have got their licenses and certificates in place.
So far, less than 2% - about 3,000 premises – had 24-hour licences, with roughly half of all premises closing by midnight and 80% closing by 1am.
Woodward said: “It’s early days, but there are encouraging signs that the new laws are working. But it will take some time before we can draw a truly conclusive picture.”
He added: “There appears to be a genuine spread of closing times, bringing an end to the old madness of everyone being thrown out onto the street at the same time, contributing to crime and disorder.”
Other key findings from the DCMS research are:
- By premises type – the 24-hour licences are 20% bars, pubs, clubs; 25% large supermarkets; 20% convenience stores; 35% others including hotels.
- Out of 600 licence reviews, 100 had been revoked as a result.
- Out of completed licence reviews 75% have resulted in changes to the licence’s conditions or restrictions on trading
- Only “modest changes” to closing times have been seen Sunday to Thursday
One year on, are the new licensing laws working?
Licensing laws: One year on
By Emily Manson
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