Posted: 24.11.05 10:30. Post subject: фсё(?) на О борот

Third of alcohol outlets to extend opening hours
Mark Oliver and agencies
Wednesday November 23 2005
The Guardian


Around one third of pubs, clubs and stores selling alcohol are to extend
their opening hours when new licensing laws come into effect at midnight,
research revealed today.

However, very few will introduce 24-hour drinking, which is now permitted
in some areas under the updated licensing laws for England and Wales.

A study carried out by BBC News showed that around 70,000 outlets would be
allowed to sell alcohol for longer than they currently do. Of these, only
359 pubs and clubs will get 24-hour licences.

An overall total of 1,121 businesses have been granted 24-hour licenses,
including around 250 supermarkets, with the rest going mostly to smaller
stores.

The reform of the licensing laws - which the government insists had become
outdated - is highly controversial, and critics claim it will add to the
UK's binge drinking problems.

Officials yesterday admitted the new laws could lead to more
alcohol-related arrests because more police resources were being targeted
in this area.

Under the new legislation, there will be greater regulation of the drinks
industry, with police and local authorities given greater powers to tackle
businesses fuelling alcohol misuse.

Tonight, it is thought a few premises will stop serving at 11pm and begin
again at one minute past midnight.

Under the new system, all premises selling alcohol had to reapply for their
licence, with 98% - around 184,000 - having done so. Of those, 40% were
seeking to change their opening hours, while 60% of pubs applied for
different hours.

In lieu of official government figures showing the proportion of licensed
premises to have been granted extended hours, the BBC attempted to survey
the 375 licensing authorities, with 301 responding.

The survey showed that 56,388 outlets had been granted longer hours. After
estimated figures for the authorities that had not responded were added,
the number allowed to sell alcohol for longer was likely to rise to around
70,000, BBC News said.

Figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport showed one in four
establishments applying to change their hours had met objections from
residents and police.

Two thirds of the disputes were resolved through negotiation, but most of
the rest of the applications were either turned down or granted with
conditions.

As many as 5,000 pubs, bars and clubs in London will be able to serve
alcohol up to midnight or later, according to the Evening Standard. The new
laws mean the capital will have up to 7,500 extra drinking hours on Friday
and Saturday nights, the paper said.

Fewer than 20 London premises are thought to have been granted a licence to
serve alcohol round the clock, but these figures do not include shops that
also applied to sell alcohol later.

Opposition politicians, however, have seized on comments made by the Home
Office minister, Paul Goggins, who yesterday said there could be more
alcohol-related arrests.

The Tory culture spokeswoman, Theresa May, said his remarks showed the
government had "finally realised that longer drinking will mean more crime
and disorder".

Government officials have said they hoped the UK would adopt a more
continental style drinking culture, but critics remain sceptical about
whether that will happen.

The new laws mean shops caught selling alcohol to minors could have their
licence hanged, suspended or revoked, and could also be fined £5,000,
and ministers said supermarket chains including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda
and Morrisons, have pledged a zero tolerance approach on the issue.

"We see this as a central part of our drive to decrease alcohol consumption
by young people, in particular alcohol consumption on the street," the home
secretary, Charles Clarke, said.

Martin Shalley, the president of the British Association for Emergency
Medicine, warned that A&E departments across England and Wales would bear
the brunt of the effects of increased binge drinking.

He said the association had argued against changes to the licensing laws,
and added: "We already see people who have been injured because they have
drunk too much. I think this is now going to occur a lot more frequently."

However, the licensing minister, James Purnell, argued that the 11pm
"curfew" on drinking - which has existed since the beginning of the 20th
century - was inappropriate in a time of changing lifestyles