The Department for Business and Trade and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have today announced a “fast-track review” to reform the licensing system.
They describe this as an opportunity to “tear up outdating licensing rules” and want to hear from “the people who know best: landlords, punters and communities.”
Dr Katherine Severi, Chief Executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said:
Despite being presented as a pro-pub initiative, these proposals will make it easier for alcohol to be sold in shops and convenience stores. Off-trade sales now account for 75% of all alcohol sold in the UK and are a major driver of the current crisis in alcohol harm. Alcohol-specific deaths are at their highest level since records began, and alcohol continues to fuel health inequalities across the country.
Licensing is not a tool for economic growth—it is a public protection mechanism. Using it to deregulate alcohol sales in the name of business growth is misguided and irresponsible, especially when those businesses are contributing to record levels of harm and placing enormous strain on our health services and communities.
The government’s stated missions to improve public health and create safer streets are fundamentally undermined by these proposals. Easier access to alcohol in the off-trade—especially through streamlined licensing processes and reduced scrutiny—will only exacerbate harm in communities already struggling with alcohol-related violence, chronic illness, and economic disadvantage.
Our frontline services continue to pay the price of increased alcohol harm, with police officers spending half their time dealing with alcohol related casework and total costs to society of alcohol harm estimated at over £27bn each year.
Cheap, high-strength products sold in shops and convenience stores are major drivers of chronic health conditions, domestic violence, and public nuisance. The burden of harm falls disproportionately on the most deprived communities, where alcohol outlet density is highest and mortality rates are more than double those in the most affluent areas.
It is deeply concerning that commercial interests appear to be shaping public policy at the expense of the public good. Health bodies, despite being Responsible Authorities under the Licensing Act, were excluded from the Taskforce process, and repeated attempts to engage were ignored. This exclusion undermines the integrity of the licensing system, which should exist to protect the public. This raises serious questions about whose interests are being served by these reforms.
If the government is serious about reforming licensing in a way that protects the public, it must:
Introduce separate rules for on- and off-trade alcohol sales, as Scotland has done, to allow communities greater control over hours of sale—for example, preventing petrol stations from selling vodka at 3am.
Add a new licensing objective to protect and promote public health, empowering local authorities to limit alcohol availability in areas experiencing the greatest harm.
Regulate online and remote alcohol sales to address the growing risks posed by rapid delivery and digital platforms.
We urge the government to consider the wider social consequences of any alcohol licensing reforms and to ensure that decisions are made in the interest of communities—not commercial profit.”