The BII reacts to Daily Mail 24-Hour Drinking Article

17-Jan-2005

The BII reacts to Daily Mail 24 - Hour Drinking Article.

John McNamara, Chief Executive of the BII said:

“Changes in the Licensing regime will not directly result in 24-hour drinking. Most businesses will seek to take the opportunity to serve customers at a suitable time for them and to say otherwise is inaccurate and sensationalist. The extension of opening hours is dependent on a number of factors including the opinion of the community the business trades in.

The vast majority of licensees are responsible and take their duty of care very seriously - no good licensee wants to encourage irresponsible drinking or under-age sales, by doing so he could be risking his livelihood. And by working together we hope that pubs and their customers will continue to be able to provide and enjoy a comfortable and safe drinking environment. There is also strong evidence that by eliminating the 'terminal hour' culture, allowing different more flexible closing times, street crime and disorder is actually reduced.

People are still under the illusion that pubs are going to be open 24 hours a day.  Feedback from our members has shown that the majority will look to extend opening times by only one or two hours and they have based this on consulting with their customers.

Police have a far wider range of powers under the new act to deal with those businesses that act irresponsibly and the BII fully supports this action.  ACPO was consulted and represented on the advisory group set up by Government, during every stage of the passage to the Licensing Act.

24-hour drinking will not be part of the overall plan, but a reasonable extension to hours by approval from the local authority and in response to customer demand will be.

The key to this as far as we are concerned is to increase standards across the board through training and sharing best practice as well as encouraging partnership between pubs, the government, local authorities, police, magistrates and all other agencies to tackle problems head on.”

 




ref Daily Mail
Email pr@bii.org
Contact Christine Dedman 01276 417 805