In the United Kingdom, the age at which people are legally allowed to purchase alcoholic beverages on their own is 18 years of age. For this reason, selling alcohol is restricted - shops must be licensed. Licences are broadly divided into two groups, an on-licence (allowing consumption of alcohol on the premises of the vendor) and an off-licence (alcohol can be removed from the vendor and drunk elsewhere).

Due to devolution, the Scottish Parliament has the power to change the licensing laws for Scotland, though the Welsh Assembly does not have this power. Therefore the laws for England and Wales now differ from those in Scotland.

There are many (over 50) different Acts currently covering licensed premises, the main one being the Licensing Act 1964 , however provisions are also included in a series of local government acts. The Licensing Act 2003 will consolidate all these separate provisions into one act.

History

In the mid-18th century, gin became extremely popular as it was much cheaper to buy than beer. By 1740, six times more gin than beer was being produced, and of the 15,000 drinking establishments in London, half were gin-shops. The Gin Act 1736 imposed a prohibitively high duty on gin, but this caused rioting and so the duty was gradually reduced and then abolished in 1742. The Gin Act 1751 was more successful: instead of a tax it restricted gin producers to selling only to licensed premises.

During the 19th century, licensing laws began to be used to restrict the opening hours of premises. After the outbreak of World War One, the Defence of the Realm Act was passed by Parliament which restricted opening hours for licensed premises to 12:00 – 14:40 and 18:30 – 21:30. In more recent times the licensing laws have been less restricted, allowing pubs to serve drinks up until 23:00. Night clubs are allowed to stay open much later however.

Since 2000, pubs have been allowed to open for 24 hours during New Year celebrations.

Recent changes

Main article: Licensing Act 2003

In 2003, the Labour Government legislated to replace the previous licensing laws for England and Wales, regulated under several different Acts, with a single unified system of rules as to when establishments can open, for how long, and under what criteria. Registration under the Act started in February 2005 and will close in August 2005, with the new licensing system starting (and the old one ending) in October 2005.

Part of the changes will allow pubs to serve alcohol past 23:00; this particular part of the legislation was and remains very controversial due to the perceived increase in potential for binge drinking and the effects the change will have on social dynamics. Both the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats have called for a delay in the implementation of this law.

As well as regulating the provision of alcohol, the act also covers entertainment, and refreshments late at night, between 23:00 – 05:00. Vendors (excluding vending machines) serving hot food or drinks between those hours will need a licence to do so. This was already the case in London but the act now extends this to the rest of England and Wales.

See also

• Drunk driving
• Prohibition

External links

• BBC News: 'No demand' for all-day drinking
• The Observer: Police fear chaos over pub hours
• culture.gov.uk's page on the licencing act 2003