Majority of landlords have yet to renew licences under new drinking laws
Thousands of pubs and clubs have yet to apply for licences they will need to continue selling alcohol under new laws, claim the Conservative Party.
Under the Licensing Act 2003, landlords must apply to take advantage of extended opening hours, but they must also apply if they wish to retain their existing licence agreements.
With just weeks to go before the August 6 deadline, the Conservatives say that only three percent of those premises expected to apply have done so.
Shadow Culture Secretary Theresa May, who received figures from 167 of the 376 licensing authorities across England and Wales, warned that an “enormous backlog” of applications was building up ahead of the deadline.
“The figures came back with this astounding figure that only three per cent of applications had so far been received,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“They are not simple things, they do take some time to process and we are getting very close to the first deadline on August 6. I think we should see much more publicity from the Government about the need to apply and setting out how long it is going to take.”
Despite complaints from some pub landlords that the application forms are too complex, the Government has rejected calls to extend the deadline for pubs, clubs and restaurants wishing to re-apply for alcohol licences.
“We’re not going to delay the 6 August deadline as we believe that would just create greater confusion,” said Licensing Minister James Purnell.
“If people submit their application well before August 6 it’s a relatively simple process.”
“If you are just converting an existing licence it’s manageable – it’s much simpler than a tax form.”
Mr Purnell said the Government were confident that larger retailers would apply for licences soon, but confirmed that a publicity campaign had been started to remind small outlets, like village halls and sports clubs, that they also need to renew their licences under the new legislation.
