DCMS admits deregulation may not be passed in time
The Government has come under heavy fire for failing yet again to guarantee 36-hour opening in pubs this New Year.
While extended opening has not been ruled out, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said last week that it could not make any promises that a deregulation order would be passed in time.
This is not ideal for licensees who will find it difficult to plan ahead for the celebrations in case the deregulation order does not go through.
Georgina Wald, public relations manager at the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) said: "It's ridiculous that the deregulation order may not go through especially as the DCMS has had so much time to process it."
But she added: "We would urge licensees to apply to magistrates for extended opening just in case."
The Home Office faced a barrage of criticism last year when it failed to pass a deregulation order in time for the celebrations on December 31, despite having almost a full year to get the necessary deregulation order through Parliament.
It was hoped that the DCMS, which took control of licensing in June, would be anxious to avoid a repeat performance and would rush the legislation through.
But a spokeswoman for the DCMS told thePublican.com that the packed parliamentary schedule meant the earliest the order would be passed is the first week of December.
This leaves just three weeks for licensees to plan and sell tickets for special New Year events.
The British Beer & Pub Association's Mark Hastings said he was angry at the delay.
"It doesn't surprise me," he said. "We have been led up the aisle more times than Elizabeth Taylor.
"Last year was bad enough, this year is pretty desperate. It raises the broader issue of the necessity for licensing reform to progress with some urgency."
Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped in at the eleventh hour in December last year once it became clear that the order had failed to progress fast enough, but even his efforts to rush it through failed.
At the time, Mr Blair promised that there would be 36-hour opening this year, but it seems the Prime Minister may not be able to keep his promise.
Licensees enjoyed 36-hour opening over the Millennium, when police said violence was at an all time low.