PM: Pub opening hours to be extended in honour of Queen’s 90th birthday
The Prime Minister announced plans to extend pub licensing hours across England and Wales to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday.
Pub licensing hours across England and Wales will be extended to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday, the Prime Minister announced today.
Subject to the normal consultation processes, pubs which are licensed to trade until 11pm will be allowed to open to 1am on Saturday 11 June and 1am on Sunday 12 June.
The government will consult on the proposals with relevant parties including licensing authorities, industry and community groups in the normal way.
Past national celebrations where the government has extended licensing hours have included the Royal Wedding in 2011, Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the 2014 World Cup.
The British Beer and Pub Association says extended hours on the relevant Friday and Saturday evenings for the Royal Wedding and Diamond Jubilee celebrations resulted in a £20 million boost to the pub sector.
Today’s announcement represents more welcome news for the pub industry, following the Chancellor’s decision to freeze beer duty in last week’s Budget.
Notes to editors
Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State for the Home Department to make a licensing hours order to allow premises to open for specified, extended hours on occasions of international, national or local significance.
The government will conduct a selective consultation on the proposal with parties including licensing authorities, industry and community groups before making a final decision. The consultation launched today and will run for a week.
The licensing hours order will be subject to debates in both Houses of Parliament before it is made.
On the evening of Saturday 11 June 2016 there will also be 2 games featuring home nations in the European Championships 2016 (England vs Russia, and Wales vs Slovakia).