Licensing relaxations should be made permanent

In response to the Home Office’s consultation on regulatory easements to the Licensing Act 2003, UKHospitality highlighted the boost these changes would make to sales, footfall and the wider economy.

The current temporary arrangements should form part of wider efforts to deregulate licensing and support the hospitality sector.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The introduction of these temporary measures during the pandemic were essential at the time and, as the sector began to recover, it was apparent that those changes were of real benefit to businesses as the economy slowly returned towards normality.

“They have enabled venues to generate additional income, increase footfall in local areas and support the growth of communities, so it should be a no-brainer to make them permanent.

“I’m pleased that the Government is consulting on measures like this to start removing red tape from the licensing regime, which can be such a burden for businesses. I hope this is just the start and that regulation ripe for change is looked at as a priority, in particular removing the costly and outdated requirement to advertise licensing applications in local newspapers.”