Licensing: one year on

In an eight-page special, the MA takes an in-depth look at the impact of the Licensing Act on its first birthday. Jo Grobel leads off with the results of an exclusive consumer poll which shows consumers are making the most of the new hours and are spending more

Longer licensing hours have been a unanimous success according to the consumers who make up the core of Britain's pubgoers, and an overwhelming 70% are making use of the greater flexibility since it came into force last year.

In a poll of 1,999 consumers conducted for the MA by Harris Interactive, young men, aged 18 to 24, are taking full advantage of the new hours, with 70% saying they have stayed in the pub longer. Of this group, one in five say they stay later "most times they visit the pub". And the rest of the population is responding positively as well with 30% saying they also back the changes and have made use of them by staying out later than the previous 11pm closing time.

Almost two out of three young people say that they make use of the later openings

(62% of 18 to 24-year-olds), which demonstrates the level of success it has achieved

with pubs' most important consumers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, older customers are the least likely to stay in the pub past the old 11pm curfew - only one in 10 women aged over 55 say they have.

Of the 30% who say they stay out later, the majority (60%) of those do so at the weekend, which is especially true in the north east, where almost four in five (79%) now stay later than 11pm.

In terms of UK regions, the longer opening hours have had most impact on those living in the north:

l Almost half (45%) of residents in the north west, who are aware of the longer opening hours, have taken advantage of them

l Two in five (44%) of those living in Yorkshire have visited the pub later

l Over a third (35%) of consumers in the north east say they stay in the pub later.

l Londoners and those living in the south, are surprisingly restrained in comparison: Less than a third of consumers living in the east of England, London or the south east, who are aware of the later opening hours, have used them.

Caterina Gerlotto, Harris Interative senior researcher, believes the reason northerners are making more use of the extended hours is that traditionally they have had fewer places to go to after pubs shut. Even before the new licensing laws came in, there were more bars and clubs with late openings in the south than the north.

Gerlotto says people in the north east tend to socialise more at weekends as many are employed in manual work rather than in office-based jobs, meaning they are less likely to visit the pub after work during the week. Only 7% say they make use of the late opening hours after work. Another factor here is the cultural difference between the north and south: in the north there is more of a focus on coming home after work to sit down to a meal with the family.

Looking at consumers' occupations, supervisors in managerial, administrative or professional positions are most likely to take advantage of the extended opening hours, with 42% saying they stay past 11pm - double that of manual or service workers, with just 21% visiting the pub later.

The other extreme is in London, where 49% say they use the longer opening hours on special occasions. Gerlotto attributes this to the fact that most Londoners work in offices, which makes it easy to visit the pub straight

after work with colleagues or friends. Almost one in five people living in the capital stay at the pub later than they used to during the week.

Another major positive of reform is that over a quarter (26%) of consumers are spending more money than they used to when they have stayed in a pub after 11pm.

The north east and the Midlands are the extremes here, with 48% of the people living in the north east saying they have spent more, against 15% of consumers in the Midlands. In London, 28% of consumers say they are spending more.

Counting the pounds

Looking at how much money consumers

have available to spend, it is quite noticeable that those on lower incomes believe they are spending more money than they used to, which would tie in with the high percentage of people in the north east who say they are worse off financially.

Gerlotto claims that this is not necessarily

an indication of how much people are spending in real terms. "Since the average salary is significantly lower in the north east in comparison to the south, it is likely they are more financially conscious," she says. "It could be more about counting the pounds than how much they are spending.

"In London, salaries are much higher

than in the rest of the country - consumers may be spending more during the later opening hours than elsewhere, but are less aware

of it since it is making less of an impact on their lives."

Those aged 35 to 44 are least likely to say they are spending more than they used to.

Of all those taking part in the research, almost three in five say the longer opening hours have made no difference to Britain's drinking culture.

The older people get, the more likely they are to think badly of the longer opening hours. Nearly double the number of consumers aged 55 or over, versus 18 to 24-year-olds, say that it has made Britain's drinking culture worse.

This is because older consumers are less likely to be using the longer opening hours and, therefore, less likely to see the positive effects. Gerlotto says the older age brackets are also the most opinionated and have the strongest views.

Geographically speaking, those in the north east are most likely to think the

extended drinking has made Britain a worse-off place since it is affecting their lives the most - especially financially - because they are

taking the most advantage of the new hours, even though they can't necessarily afford it.

Nicole Sapouari, 26, laser practitioner

I've heard that pubs are open later now, but I don't tend to visit pubs much later than 11pm anyway, so it doesn't really affect me. Overall though, I think it's a good idea

staggering hours when people are coming out of pubs - it will make things a lot more civilised on the streets, with less trouble.

The impact of extended opening AT A glance

l Over seven in 10 young men have taken advantage of the extended opening

hours

l Two in three young people say they make use of later opening

l Three in five say the longer opening hours have made no difference to Britain's drinking culture

l A quarter of consumers are spending more money than they used to when they've stayed in a pub after 11pm

l Fewer than one in three Londoners have used the later opening hours

View on the street: we talk to drinkers in London

Laura Borthwick, 26, teacher

I'm aware of the new laws and the fact that some pubs are open later. I have not been in many pubs later - maybe until midnight or 1am but not much more than that. I haven't spent any more money than I did before either. If you're going for a few drinks surely you do most of that earlier on?

Jamie Eaton, 27, works in insurance

How could I not be aware that pubs are open later? I definitely take advantage of the later opening. I normally go to pubs in the City or Kensington, in London, and we usually stay until about 12.30am or 1am. I find I am actually spending less as there is no need to go onto a club or bar after.

Andrew Constable, 40, engineer

I know that some pubs are open 24 hours but I haven't really made use of the later opening hours. It doesn't make a lot of difference to me as I'm drinking less than I used to - my main drinking was done about 20 years ago. Now and again I'll visit the pub later, but I'm not spending any more.