Pubs could stay open longer under licensing reforms

Pubs and bars in England and Wales could see extended opening hours as the government launches a fast-track review on “outdated” licensing rules.

The plans could make it easier for venues to serve food outside and host more live music, in a bid to “remove unnecessary barriers”.

Pub landlords and local communities will be able to have their say in a four-week call for evidence. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the review was about “cutting red tape” and “boosting footfall” to support the UK’s economic growth.

But critics have warned relaxing rules around alcohol would lead to more antisocial behaviour.

Sir Keir said “pubs and bars are the beating heart of our communities”, and added that the government was “backing them to thrive”.

“When our locals do well, our economy does too,” he said.

The call for evidence will focus on nine key recommendations from the government’s licensing taskforce, with particular emphasis on streamlining on-trade alcohol licensing for hospitality venues.

It said it plans to cut the cost of licensing, extend business rates relief and cut alcohol duty on draught pints.

A proposal to remove the local newspaper advertising requirement for a manager wanting to set up a premises or alter their licence was among the taskforce’s other recommendations.

It also recommended a permanent increase to the number of temporary event notices – needed to hold a one-off licensable event on unlicensed premises – and simpler rules for trading in outdoor areas.

Nick Mackenzie, co-chair of the licensing taskforce and chief executive at pub giant Greene King, said updating the licensing system was a “vital step” towards reducing the challenges of running a hospitality business.

“Pubs are faced with continued rising costs, placing them under enormous pressures which is why the government must continue to back the sector, including critical reforms on business rates which would unlock opportunities for pubs to invest and help drive economic growth,” he said.

UK Hospitality, the body which represents pubs and bars in the UK, welcomed the review and said the changes could reduce red tape and costs stifling businesses.

“Under the current regime, a single complaint from a single resident is enough often to stop a business from being able to trade. It can result in a review; it can result in a business being closed down,” Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the body, told BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“This is not about trading later, this is not about 24-hour licensing and drinking, this is about making sure that we can respond to consumer demands, and that we can offer freedom and flexibility at a low enough costs.”

Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, called for the government to implement the licensing taskforce’s recommendations published in June and cease “endlessly delaying whilst it’s literally ‘last orders’ for many pubs and businesses’.

But Richard Piper, the chief executive of the charity Alcohol Change UK told the Guardian the proposed reforms would be a “charter for chaos” without support from local authorities and health experts.

He said permitting vendors to sell alcohol later into the evening would “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”.

Pubs in England and Wales do not have universal fixed opening hours under current licensing rules. Instead, local authorities grant licenses with specific operating hours which pubs must follow.

The number of pubs in the UK has steadily decreased every year since 2000, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. The association estimates that 378 pubs would close in 2025 across England, Wales and Scotland, amounting to more than 5,600 direct job losses.

The BBC has heard from landlords and customers on government’s licensing review.

Mark Costello from Leeds, who runs a brewery and tap room, said costs were his main concern.

“It doesn’t matter how long we’re allowed to stay open; it costs a huge amount to stay open so what we need is the customers to fill the place, and they don’t have the money to go out like they used to,” he said.

“We need help with business rates, energy and staffing costs,” he added

Jay Ashton from Huddersfield, who owns two micropubs said he has to deal with “a bureaucratic mountain” when dealing with the councils who he says are “barriers to growth”.

Andy in Heathfield, East Sussex, said a pub he lives next to is making “everyone’s lives a misery” and longer hours and more music will destroy the village.

David from Cambridge, who has been a pub goer for 55 years, says the increased business rates, national insurance and minimum wage and customers with less disposable income are the real problem facing pubs.