Brewers and pub companies urge moratorium on changes to licensing law

The British Beer & Pub Association has called for a moratorium on further legislative change during the current Parliament, in a submission to a House of Lords Select Committee inquiry on the Licensing Act 2003.

The BBPA, which represents brewers and pub companies, has sought to highlight the scale and number of changes to the 2003 Act since its introduction and said a period of greater stability was needed.

The Association also said it wanted to see less burdensome provisions that would benefit business, as well as licensing authorities, around areas such as advertising requirements and flexibility on payment dates for licensing fees, along with more targeted enforcement.

The submission also argued that partnership working between all parties in the licensing regime, via schemes such as Pubwatch, was the most effective way of dealing with issues and promoting good practice.

BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds, who is scheduled to appear before the committee 18 October to give evidence, said: “Pubs sustain over 800,000 jobs, and the sector is constantly adapting to changing consumer tastes, and playing a vital role in local communities and in the high street. Yet the sector is very heavily regulated, adding greatly to the cost of doing business.

“The Act has been very far from the free-for-all, 24-hour drinking that we often read about. In reality we have seen a declining number of pubs, and a greater need that ever to tackle the high cost of tax and regulation, to keep pubs thriving. We now need a period of stability in the licensing regime, and a focus on reducing the cost and burden of enforcement.”