Alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom

The alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol, with separate legislation for England and Wales,[a] Northern Ireland and Scotland being passed, as necessary, by the UK Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the Scottish Parliament respectively.

However, these distinctions are not explicitly made in the Licensing Act 2003, and the position in Scotland and Northern Ireland is more complex.

Adults purchasing alcohol on behalf of a person under 18 in a pub or from an off-licence are potentially liable to prosecution along with the vendor.

However, legislation does allow for the consumption of alcohol by those under 18 in the following circumstances: The person making the purchase must themselves be at least 18 years old.

The same reforms have been proposed for Northern Ireland, but have not been enacted; sale of alcohol there remains more strictly regulated than in Great Britain.

Within the British Isles, records show that ale was consumed in huge quantities without regulation throughout the medieval period.

At the start of 14th century, it ranked alongside pottage and bread as one of three main sources of grain in the diet.

[7] Small beer remained socially acceptable throughout 18th-century England because its lower alcohol content permitted people to drink several glasses without becoming drunk.

One of the reasons that restrictions were not lifted, despite a Royal Commission in 1929–31 looking into Licensing in the British Isles,[14] was the pervasive attitude that public houses, in general, were "disreputable drinking dens".

One defined what sort of places could serve alcohol such as bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels and clubs.

It was not until Scotland became the first part of the UK to repeal the times people could drink that the law had changed in more than 50 years.

On 21 August 1988, for the first time in almost 75 years, British pubs were permitted to remain open through the day; uninterrupted consumption of alcohol was allowed on premises from 11:00 until 23:00.

On-licence describes an establishment where alcohol must be consumed at the point of sale, such as a pub, bar, nightclub or café.

Before the Licensing Act 2003 came into effect, there was a legal requirement to display the name of the licensee above the entrance to an on-licence location.

Off-licences typically are specialist shops, convenience stores, parts of supermarkets, or attached to bars and pubs.

The Sunday Trading Act 1994 exempted liquor stores (and any shops that sells alcohol) from its effects.

[22] In Northern Ireland, legislation is more restrictive than in Great Britain—a reaction to social problems at the beginning of the 20th century.

There were approximately 30 licensing boards in Scotland and each had its own distinct approach; for example, whilst there is a set "permitted hours" across Scotland, these were frequently extended in order to take account of early morning and late night trading, and each licensing board had its own views on what sort of extra hours a premises should be given.

[24] The legislation in Scotland regarding the sale of alcohol is different from the rest of the UK and England in particular.

The Act also introduced a number of other measures aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, including restrictions on quantity discounts, a ban on irresponsible promotions, and a minimum price per unit of alcohol.

Until the 2003 Act came into force on 24 November 2005,[26] permitted hours were a standard legal constraint: for example, serving alcohol after 23:00 meant that a licensing extension had to exist—either permanent (as for nightclubs, for example), or by special application from the licensee concerned for a particular occasion.

There was also a customary general derogation permitting a modest extension on particular dates, such as New Year's Eve and some other Public Holidays.

Premises that still close (for commercial reasons) at 23:00 during most of the week may well have licences permitting them to remain open longer, perhaps for several hours.

In contrast, some licensees call for "last orders" twenty minutes (or more) before the end of the opening hours specified on their premises' licence.

There are a number of significant differences, such as a "duty to trade" and attempts to control the irresponsible sale of alcohol through curbs on price discounting and other promotions which may lead to excessive consumption.

[citation needed] Both the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats unsuccessfully called for a delay in the implementation of this law.

These changes, brought in from 2013, coupled with the Live Music Act in 2012, display a readiness by the Coalition Government to deregulate the prescriptive and sometimes confusing definitions of Regulated Entertainment stated above (although the Live Music Act was a Private Members' Bill sponsored by Lord Clement-Jones and drafted by Poppleston Allen Solicitors which was subsequently supported by the Government).

If relevant convictions are disclosed then the Licensing Authority must send a copy of the application to the local Police, who can object within 14 days.

While the reforms from 2005 were intended to reduce "binge drinking", reports have variously claimed that the situation in England and Wales has not improved, or that it has become even worse.

[36] Perceived problems in England and Wales shaped a slightly different approach in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.