The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Brokenshire)
Today we are publishing a consultation on an order to relax licensing hours to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. The order would allow all licensed premises in England and Wales to open until 1 am on Friday 29 April and Saturday 30 April to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises and to put on entertainment such as live music.
Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the relevant Secretary of State to make an order relaxing opening hours for licensed premises to mark occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance”. A “licensing hours order” overrides existing opening hours in licensed premises, that is, any premises with a premises licence or club premises certificate and can be used for a period of up to four days. An order may be applied to all licensed premises in England and Wales or restricted to one or more specified areas. It is also possible to impose different opening hours on different days during the relaxation period and to allow different licensing hours for different licensable activities.
The Government consider that, as the royal wedding is an occasion for national celebration, licensing hours should be relaxed in all licensed premises in England and Wales. However, we are mindful that late-night drinking can lead to crime and disorder and public nuisance. On this basis, we are proposing a modest relaxation of licensing hours until 1 am and intend to restrict the order to the sale of alcohol in pubs, clubs and anywhere else where alcohol is consumed on the premises and to regulated entertainment such as live and recorded music, dancing, plays and films. We are also limiting the order to Friday 29 April—the day of the wedding—and Saturday 30 April as these are the days when people are most likely to want to celebrate.
The consultation will be published today on the Home Office website and copies will also be placed in the Vote Office and House Library.