Shadow culture secretary gives pubs support
A senior Tory has spoken up for pubs saying they can be part of the solution to the problems around alcohol.
Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt voiced his support for the industry at the Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) Conference today
He told delegates at the event: "Pubs are part of the solution to this problem and not the problem itself."
He added: "A pub is a very social place to drink and a much better way than if people buy Special Brew and take it to the local park."
Hunt said the Tories would not "turn the clock back to 11pm drinking-up times", but argued it had been a mistake to bring in a "big bang approach" with the Licensing Act in 2005.
He also recommended a more localised approach to tackling alcohol fuelled problems.
Earlier at the event at Lord's Cricket Ground licensing minister Gerry Sutcliffe branded claims that live music in small venues, such as pubs, has suffered under the regime "as a myth".
He pointed to government figures showing an 11 per cent rise in the number of regulated entertainment licences since the Act came in.
"We seem to have this myth that live music is on the decline but these figures prove that it isn't," he said.
Sutcliffe also argued that the Department for Culture Media and Sport had a positive attitude to pubs because it had supported schemes such as Pub is the Hub and The Publican's Proud of Pubs campaign.
