So Far, So Good

Post-pub serious violent crime has actually fallen since the extension of licensing hours. The next challenge will be the World Cup summer, says Ben McFarland

First there was the wheel, then there was sliced bread. And now, would you believe it, there are pubs that stay open until after 11 o’clock. It’s been a long time coming but, finally, on November 24, 2005, the trade gleefully waved goodbye to Europe’s most archaic licensing laws with more than 60,000 extensions in hours for selling alcohol granted and more than 350 pubs and clubs opting for 24-hour opening.

While some raised a glass in celebration, others raised objections. Opposition was fervent and, an under-fire trade believed, rather over-publicised. Just a few days prior to the relaxation of the licensing laws, the Daily Mail warned, “We can expect worse when 24-hour drinking comes in. Police fear mayhem on the streets. Judges warn of more rapes and other violent crimes. Law-abiding communities are braced for more misery.”

It was argued that the social fabric of our once great nation was set to unravel overnight and that both alcohol-related crime and illness would spiral out of control.

Proponents of the extension lauded the potential ushering in of a more mature attitude to alcohol and cited the staggered closing times as a surefire way to avoid drunken disorder. Instead of lager-swilling fisticuffing hooligans, we were to be a nation of Gauloise-smoking, claret-swilling philosophers.

Amid all this hysteria and hyperbole, meanwhile, the trade quietly got on with the mountains of red tape. It appealed for calm and common sense, certain that nothing much would change, and predicted that the new regime would neither usher in a continental café culture nor complete and utter carnage.

With the benefit of four months’ worth of hindsight, the trade seems to have had it about right. The relaxation of Britain’s drinking laws has not prompted the surge in alcohol-fuelled violence that many had predicted and, here’s a thing, the Daily
Mail headlines have been conspicuous by their absence.

If anything, drunken shenanigans on the streets and in the pubs have been reduced. Figures released recently by the Department for Culture and the Home Office reveal that serious violent crime, including stabbings, dropped by 21% following the introduction of longer opening hours.

The statistics, which relate to the six weeks immediately after the new licensing hours were introduced, are, however, confined to the 43 areas where police were given extra funding (£2.5m) to crack down on drinking. During this period, armed with new powers that allowed them to close disorderly pubs and clubs, the police dealt with 33,358 offences, made 24,586 arrests and issued 8,179 on-the-spot fines.

Britain’s brewing and pub sector welcomed these significant falls in alcohol-related violent crime. Mark Hastings, director of communications for the British Beer and Pub Association, said, “The combination of flexible opening hours and law enforcement is having a positive impact. Communities are seeing a reduction in violent crime and the pub trade is seeing positive changes in drinking patterns and behaviour. The projections of government and the industry have proved far closer to the truth than the prophesies of doom and gloom.”

Amid Conservative party accusations of spin, the culture minister, James Purnell, conceded it was too early to draw any long-term conclusions. “We have always said the overall effect of the licensing act would not be to fuel violence. It is
early days, but we will monitor the situation closely and keep the act under review.”

Certainly, the first figures have an unnatural sheen about them and many within the trade believe that the summer, with the World Cup, long balmy evenings and unsubsidised police forces, will be the true test.  db

INSIDER OPINION

Nick Griffin of Brighton-based Pleisure Pub Company
Have you seen any changes in customer behaviour?
The frantic rushing at the end of the evening has gone. People are just drifting out of the pub rather than having to be ejected. The managers are now shutting when there simply aren’t any customers left. I certainly don’t think that if people drink longer they drink lower-ABV products. In our pubs, people drink premium because, basically, it tastes better and not because it gets you drunk quicker.

Eddie Gershon, spokesperson for JD Wetherspoon
What have been the main advantages of the new laws?
It’s not made a massive difference to the business but it has broadened the appeal of the pub. Whether you’re a shift worker who wants a pint at 10.30 in the morning or a couple who want a glass of wine and a meal after the cinema, the pub is now an option. The fact that we can open up at nine in the morning and serve coffee and breakfasts means that we can seriously compete with cafés and coffee chains. It’s allowing pubs to compete on a more even playing field.
Have sales been affected?
The pubs are definitely busier and the sales are up. But, running a pub is a very labour-intensive business and wages and utilities have also to be taken into account. 
Have you seen a change in customer behaviour?
Things are certainly a lot more relaxed in the evening with people finishing their pints and moving off rather than having to be told to leave. Also, people are not rushing in 10 minutes before closing and lining up pints. 

Danny Fox of Living Ventures, owner of the Living Room and Mosquito bars and the “Est, Est, Est” restaurant chain

How has business changed?
We’ve seen an increase in sales and late-night drink-led areas. People are not continuing to drink at the table in our restaurants; they’re still moving into a more bar-oriented environment at the end of the night. Also, the public are aware that a private party needn’t end at 11 and we’ve improved our business in this area.
How do you think the on-trade landscape might change?
I think chameleon venues will be increasingly popular. If you can give people an opportunity to move onto the next stage in their night within the same venue then most will choose that rather than putting on the hats and coats and moving on. I think local pubs will benefit as the migration from residential areas into the city centre may not be as significant as people choose to stay in their late-opening local longer. I also think that, in time, nightclubs will feel the pinch.

Rick Robinson, licensee at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston-upon-Thames
Has it affected your business?
We’re only opening an extra hour throughout the week but, financially, there’s been no change. People are coming in later but are drinking the same amount.
Has it been economically viable opening for an extra hour?
The extra hour doesn’t justify the extra costs in itself but when the pub up the road is open an extra hour too, then you simply have to do it.
Do you think the licensing changes will be an issue in the future?
The summer will be a bit difficult. If, like me, you have a pub with a garden but have to get people inside by 10.30 and into a sweaty pub, it’s going to be a potential flashpoint. I’m a publican not a shepherd.

David Crabtree of Luminar Leisure’s Entertainment Division which includes Jumpin’ Jak’s and Chicago Rock Café

Have pubs that open later eaten into to your late-night offering?
Not really. People are just arriving a little later and staying later.
Are people drinking more?
Some of the peak drinking time now goes on in the pub and that’s still taking place between nine and eleven. People still drink more slowly after that. We’ve lost a bit of that 9.30 to 10 o’clock business but make it up at the end of the night.
How has this affected the business financially?
In terms of outgoings, there’s been very little change. All we’ve done is shift the heavier costs back an hour and the cost base remains the same. 
Have you witnessed more trouble in your venues?
If anything, there’s been a decrease in terms of trouble as people leave more gradually in the evening.

db  April 2006

db  April 2006