Minister for Policing (): The Government is today
launching a consultation on measures that would make it easier
for licensed premises to sell alcohol for consumption in an
adjacent licensed pavement area. This consultation aligns with
the Government's commitment to support businesses and our broader
work on smarter regulation.
The Licensing Act 2003 allows premises licence holders to sell
alcohol for consumption on site (‘on-sales'), off site
(‘off-sales') or both. The holder of an on-sales only licence can
subsequently apply to their Licensing Authority for a variation
if they wish to add off-sales to their licence.
To provide vital support to businesses during the COVID-19
pandemic, temporary provisions in the Business and Planning Act
2020 (the 2020 Act) enabled on-sales only premises licence
holders to automatically also do off-sales without any need to
amend their licence, thus saving these businesses time and money.
The 2020 Act also introduced changes to the process for obtaining
pavement licences, which are licences granted by the local
authority that allow the licence-holder to place removable
furniture over certain highways adjacent to the premises. The
2020 Act streamlined the process to allow businesses to secure
pavement licences quickly.
The measures in the 2020 Act were designed to support businesses
and the specific provisions referenced above, when taken
together, meant that pubs and restaurants were able to serve
alcohol outside in the area covered by any pavement licence that
they held.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 has made permanent the
provisions set out in the 2020 Act relating to pavement
licensing, but the future of the off-sales element has not yet
been decided and the provision is due to lapse in March 2025.
The Government remains committed to supporting the hospitality
sector whilst it faces ongoing financial challenges. In September
2023, we made it clear that the Government's ultimate goal is to
create a unified consent regime that includes licensing consent
for the consumption and sale of alcohol in the outside pavement
area before the provision lapses next year. As such, we have
identified three options to consult on that would enable premises
to continue to sell alcohol for consumption in a licensed
pavement area with ease, whilst ensuring that licensing
authorities and local residents continue to have a say about what
happens in their area.
Alongside new options that would make it easier for business to
do off-sales, we have also included the option of making the 2020
Act off-sales easement permanent. All three options would require
an amendment to legislation. As these would represent
deregulatory measures, we believe that a Legislative Reform Order
- made under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 -
would be a suitable vehicle for making such an amendment.
The consultation will run for eight weeks and the Government will
publish its response afterwards. A copy of the consultation and
related impact assessment will be placed in the Libraries of both
Houses and published on Gov.UK.
