The Government wants to change the way that licensing works in England and Wales by cutting ‘red tape’. The proposed changes would make it easier to get a license to sell alcohol, make it easier for venues to extend their opening hours, and make it harder for local authorities to regulate how alcohol is sold in their communities, even in areas with high levels of harm.
The Government has said it hopes to ‘breathe new life into the high street’ with these proposals. However, the changes would have the opposite effect, with large pub-owning companies, supermarkets and delivery warehouses most likely to benefit, rather than local pubs and community venues.
Although the Government say they want to support bars, pubs and restaurants, these changes would make it easier for shops and rapid delivery warehouses to get licenses to sell alcohol. This will make cheap alcohol even more available round-the-clock, which drives harm and encourages people to stay home or pre-drink, rather than going out to venues. Pub landlords themselves have said that these licensing changes aren’t what’s needed to support hospitality, which already struggles to compete with supermarkets selling alcohol at pocket money prices.
The idea of ‘cutting red tape’ brings up an image of businesses tangled up in administration. But this picture doesn’t tell the whole story.
One of the main jobs of our licensing system is to reduce harm caused by alcohol. It does this by setting out rules about how and where alcohol can be sold, including ‘conditions’, which are steps venues need to take to protect people, like making sure people have access to water, putting in place proper staff training, providing smaller serving sizes, or reducing the use of glass in areas with higher levels of violence.
In England and Wales, it is relatively straightforward to get a license to sell alcohol. Most licenses are approved. Licenses are refused if there are objections with evidence that they would have a negative impact on the ‘licensing objectives’, which are;
- the prevention of crime and disorder
- the prevention of public nuisance
- the protection of children from harm.
Local authorities can also look at data about the combined impact of the number and density of venues, and if they think this is having a negative impact on the licensing objectives, they can publish a ‘cumulative impact assessment’. Impacts could include things like higher numbers of A&E admissions caused by alcohol, or hotspots for crime. If someone applies for a license in an area which has cumulative impact like this, they need to show that approving their license won’t add more onto these combined harms.
The Government are suggesting changes that undermine local democratic control of these licensing decisions. They also want local authorities to use licensing to promote economic growth. This conflicts with licensing’s main job of public protection, and will make it easier for shops and venues to get licenses, even in areas where harms caused by alcohol are higher.
Alcohol Change UK has given detailed evidence to the Government about why they should not go ahead with these proposals. If the Government genuinely wants to revitalise our neighbourhoods and high streets and is serious about prevention, it must enable local authorities to make the decisions that are right for their communities, based on local evidence and need. Alcohol harm is widespread in England and Wales, including mental health problems, chronic illness, absence from work, injuries, violence, and record levels of deaths caused by alcohol.
We agree that the current licensing rules are outdated, as they don’t tackle the rise in 24/7, rapid alcohol delivery, and don’t allow local authorities to consider the health impacts of alcohol in their areas when making licensing decisions. Despite these constraints, local authorities have been working hard to protect their communities, using data on harms including violence, crime and hospitalisations to tailor licensing to local needs. Licensing is an important tool to reduce alcohol harm, which should be celebrated, not treated as red tape that should be cut.
