Availability

• Controlling the availability of alcohol is one of the most effective and cost-effective ways to reduce alcohol harm, according to the World Health Organization.
• The average English postcode has 31 outlets selling alcohol within walking distance (1km) of its centre. (Angus et al, 2017)
• In England, alcohol outlet density increases with increasing neighbourhood deprivation.
• A national study of all 32,482 neighbourhoods in England found that areas with the highest densities of pubs, bars, and nightclubs had 13% higher admissions for acute alcohol-attributable conditions and 22% higher admissions for chronic conditions compared with areas with the lowest densities (Angus et al, 2018).
• Licensed restaurants had 9% higher acute and 9% higher chronic admissions, other on-trade outlets 12% higher acute and 19% higher chronic, and convenience stores 10% higher acute and 7% higher chronic, highlighting a strong link between alcohol outlet density and hospital harms.
• Off-trade premises – such as supermarkets and off-licenses – are also a key driver of harm. On-trade closures during the COVID-19 pandemic saw the proportion of violent incidents recorded as alcohol-related fall only subtly (3 percentage points in months of closure) and did not lead to a significant difference in the proportion of domestic violence that was recorded as alcohol-related (Lightowlers and Bryant, 2025).
• The most deprived 20% of postcodes have around 3 times as many outlets selling alcohol within walking distance of their centre as the least deprived 20%.
• In Scotland, alcohol-related hospital admissions and deaths correlate with the density of licensed premises. (AFS, 2018)
• In Scotland, around one in six ambulance call-outs are alcohol-related, with frontline staff reporting increased aggression, stress, and strain on services, highlighting the wider societal impact of alcohol availability (Uny et al, 2025).

• There are 224,100 licensed premises in England and Wales (Home Office, 2024).
• The number of premises has increased 14% from 2007/08 to 2023/24.
• In England and Wales, 69% of licensed premises are licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption.

• There are 132,000 premises that have a license for either just on-sales or both on- and off-sales of alcohol (Home Office).
• These premises have increased in number by 13% since 2007/08.
• This has mostly been driven by an increase in the number of restaurants.

How many on-trade premises are there in England & Wales? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

• On-trade premises include pubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, and hotel bars, among others.

What type of on-sales premises are there? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

• The number of pubs has been consistently falling for decades, dropping from 69,000 to 45,350 between 1980 and 2023 (BBPA).

• However, while the number of premises have closed, the number of people employed in the sector has been generally increasing since 2011.

• What has changed is the size of pubs, with smaller premises closing and bigger premises opening, which employ more people. This explains why there has been a fall in the number of pubs but no real change in employment.

• As the ONS has stated: “There is a long-term trend towards people spending more of their household income on eating out and less on drinking out.”
• Pubs and bars now employ more people serving food than they do behind the bar, which reflects this change in consumer demand (ONS).

• There are 59,800 off-license premises in England and Wales.
• The overall number of off-licenses has risen more than any other premise type – by 26% since 2007/08.

How many off-trade premises are there in England & Wales? by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

• England and Wales are an international outlier in permitting 24-hour delivery of alcohol.
• England and Wales are the only part of the UK or Ireland that routinely permits 24-hour licences. In the rest of the UK and Ireland, off-licence hours are set nationally, closing no later than 10/11pm.
• The number of premises with a 24-hour alcohol licence increased by 49% from 2007/08 to 2023/24.

• Recently, supermarkets and stores overtook hotel bars as the most likely premises to have a 24-hr alcohol licence.
• Only 900 pubs, bars and nightclubs own a 24-hr alcohol licence, making up less than 10% of 24-hour premises.
• The major increase in 24-hour licenses has been convenience stores and delivery warehouses, the latter of which facilitates rapid online delivery, which is particularly associated with harmful drinking at home.

24-hour premises by type by The Institute of Alcohol Studies

• The number of personal licences to sell alcohol in Scotland rose 45%, from 40,286 in 2012 to 58,462 in 2018.