Drinking laws set to come into effect

The new 24-hour licensing laws are set to come into effect at midnight, amid increasing concerns that they could lead to an increase in alcohol-related violence.

A survey conducted by the BBC suggested that around a third of pubs, clubs and shops selling alcohol in England and Wales plan to extend their opening hours under the new legislation.

However, only 1,121 premises have been granted 24-hour licenses. These include just 359 pubs and clubs, with the others being supermarkets and smaller shops.

The measures are part of the 2003 Licensing Act, which also includes measures to tackle alcohol-fuelled disorder. These include increased powers for police to tackle venues, which encourage binge-drinking and increased penalties for premises, which sell alcohol to under-eighteens.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said: “The vast majority of adults drink alcohol. Most people live within walking distance of a pub or bar. Alcohol is part of our national life.

“That’s why these new laws are so important. For too long we have allowed a small minority to rule the streets at night and our main recourse has been a national curfew. This was unfair in principle and wrong in practice.

"From today we have got our priorities right. Yobbish behaviour will be cracked down on and adults will be treated like grown ups.”

However, Ms Jowell said that the act was not about encouraging 24-hour drinking. She said: “Indications are that one half of one percent of licensees have applied for a 24 hour licence and many of them do not intend to use it regularly."

Home Secretary Charles Clarke echoed Ms Jowell’s claims. He said: "We believe that the Licensing Act will help to reduce alcohol fuelled disorder by providing the police with new tough powers to close down problem bars and increase penalties for premises that sell to underage drinkers, while at the same time ensuring that the law abiding majority can enjoy a drink when they wish."

However Licensing Minister James Purnell came under fire from Conservatives for suggesting that an increase in arrests for alcohol-fuelled disorder would be a measure of success of the new measures. Mr Purnell told BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme that the government expected more prosecutions, because of the greater powers given to police.

However, Shadow Culture Secretary Theresa May said that was “absurd”. She said: "According to Mr Purnell's logic, the drunker and more violent people get on Thursday night, the better a job he will have done.

"It is clear that the government have finally realised that longer drinking will mean more crime and disorder. No matter how many panicked initiatives they announce, it will be the police and the public who will have to deal with the consequences of the government's mistakes."

Martin Shalley, President of the British Association for Emergency Medicine also warned that A&E departments would have to deal with the effects of increased binge-drinking, due to the extended drinking hours.

He said: “We already see people who have been injured because they have drunk too much. I think this is now going to occur a lot more frequently.”

(KMcA/SP)