UK Minister backs licensing law change to ‘boost’ pubs and bars

A UK minister has backed licensing law changes which could make it easier for pubs to open during major sports or royal events.

Dame Diana Johnson said it was “sadly not possible” for the Government to ease opening time restrictions when England faced Spain in the Fifa Women’s World Cup final almost two years ago.

But MPs including Dame Diana backed the Licensing Hours Extension Bill at its second reading on Friday, and it will undergo further scrutiny at a later date.

Labour MP Andrew Ranger, who brought forward the private member’s bill, told the Commons that the Bill could provide “a boost to the hospitality sector”.

She said: “With the current arrangements it means that fast-paced extensions are simply not always possible, which is problematic in the context of sporting events, where the participation of national teams in the later stages of competitions is uncertain until the last moment.”

The 2023 Women’s World Cup final, held in Sydney, Australia, kicked off at 11am UK time on a Sunday during August.

Mr Ranger said the Bill would “have the two-fold impact of saving businesses both time and money, and also means local licensing authorities avoid the strain of being required to process large numbers of individual applications, possibly at very late notice”.

Turning to events of national and international importance, he said: “These events bring us together to share in these occasions, the joy of them and also perhaps inevitable trauma of when England lose on penalties again – or the anticipated jubilation of when Wales reaches the World Cup final, and of course the day when Wrexham reach the FA Cup final.”

Conservative shadow policing minister Matt Vickers, who is also the MP for Stockton West, said: “While it may be unlikely, I remain hopeful that one day the mighty Stockton Town will take advantage of these changes with a future appearance late in the evening during a Champions League final.

“In the meantime, while I might have to wait a while for that, I express our support for this change and look forward to taking advantage of it during the next international tournament.”