24-hour licensing leaves councils with £100m hangover30/06/2008
The introduction of 24 hour drinking has failed to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence and has left council tax payers with a £100 million bill, a damning new report says.
The introduction of 24 hour drinking has failed to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence and has left council tax payers with a £100 million bill, a damning new report says.
Ministers hoped that the 2003 Licensing Act would usher in a new Continental style cafe culture in Britain's pubs and bars with people drinking more slowly over an extended number of hours and disorder falling as a result.
However, a survey of police, the NHS and councils has found that most of them consider that the changes in the Act, which became law in November 2005, have had no impact on improving drink-fuelled disorder.
Instead the legislation has placed significant extra pressure on public services, such as hiring more staff to enforce and to clean up town centres, for the council taxpayer.
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