Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) on trade and (b) off trade sales.

The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.

A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.

Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.

The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.