New statistics released today by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), show that the number of 24-hour alcohol licenses granted have risen since last year, with hotels far outnumbering the amount of pubs.
As of March 31, licensed premises across the UK that could serve alcohol at any time of day had risen by 5 per cent on last year to 6,300. Sixty per cent of these were hotel bars, while pubs, bars and nightclubs attributed to just 10 per cent, although now in light of the current economic crisis and the diminishing rate of pubs, this number is thought to have reduced further.
Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe credits the rise in the amount of licenses granted against the low number of 24-hour licensed pubs, to the fact that consumers are choosing to drink during more sociable hours.
"The vast majority of people who drink alcohol do so responsibly, and I believe they are mature enough to do so at a time of their own choosing,” he said. “The small rise in the number of 24 hour licenses shows that people are taking advantages of the flexibility on offer, although it is worth noting that most of these licenses are held by hotels which have always been able to serve their customers 24 hours a day. So again the predicted explosion in 24 hour drinking has failed to materialise.”
The report also notes that the number of premises in England and Wales including pubs, hotels, clubs, stores and supermarkets that were licensed to sell alcohol, had reached 155,400. The number of supermarkets and stores with a license to sell 24-hour alcohol was reported to attribute to 20 per cent of the total, twice as much as pubs, bars and nightclubs.