Howells tells licensees to 'hang fire' despite fury at hours gaffe
Ministers have said they may sacrifice extended hours this New Year to ensure a 1am extension for the Queen's Golden Jubilee next year.
Licensees are furious that the Government has failed to pass a deregulation order in time and may now have to choose between the two celebrations.
Licensing minister Dr Kim Howells told thePublican.com this week that with only 10 weeks to go until New Year he could not guarantee a relaxation of licensing hours for both events.
He advised licensees to "hang fire" rather than press ahead with plans for New Year parties because the Government has yet again failed to push the required deregulation order through fast enough. The busy parliamentary timetable means one of the orders may have to be sacrificed, likely to be the proposed 36-hour opening over New Year.
"I understand this is difficult because licensees have a commercial interest to protect," Dr Howells said.
He added that if time ran out, plans to extend opening this New Year would be dropped in favour of the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
This has angered trade leaders who believe licensees have not been consulted.
Kate Nicholls, spokeswoman for the trade's Red Tape Group, said: "I've spoken to some of our members and they would much prefer to have the 12-hour extension at New Year."
The chief executive of Business in Sport and Leisure, Brigid Simmonds, agreed. "The industry should be consulted over which measure it would like to see go through. At the present time the committee seems to be looking only at the Jubilee," she said.
The trade was assured earlier this year there would be plenty of time to push through a New Year extension. It is now furious that the legislation has been held up for the second year in a row.
Georgina Wald, public relations manager at the British Institute of Innkeeping, said she would like to see immediate clarification from the Government.
"Licensees can't afford to leave things in the balance for much longer, especially if they are planning ticketed events," she said. "Licensees haven't got the time or the money to start walking up the garden path only to find the front door is shut."
Rob Hayward, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the industry was waiting for a report to be published and should know more in November. But this will only hint at whether the extension will go ahead and licensees will not know for sure until December 6, leaving just three weeks to organise celebrations.
If plans for the Queen's Golden Jubilee go ahead, licensees will not know until the spring if the extension until 1am on Monday June 3 has been granted, again leaving them with little time to plan and promote events.
A catalogue of failed promises:
Related news:
Trade fears mount over licensing hours on Jubilee weekend (4 October 2001)