Alcohol Licence Applications

Philip Dunne asks to put back the 6 August deadline for licensing applications.

Mr. Philip Dunne (Ludlow) (Con): If she will put back the 6 August deadline for licensing applications from premises selling alcohol. [2994]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (James Purnell): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to put back the deadline; delaying it would delay the problem and cause confusion. A change would require primary legislation, and there is no guarantee that it could be completed by 6 August.

Mr. Dunne: The two local authorities in the Ludlow constituency have issued between 50 and 77 pages of application form and guidance notes for the conversion of existing licences. As of this morning, however, only 27 out of 350 licensed premises in South Shropshire and approximately 10 per cent. of those in Bridgnorth district council have submitted application forms. Does the Minister agree that the cost and intensely complicated bureaucracy resulting from the new regime should give reason for delay in order to allow more licensees to submit their applications?

James Purnell: This Act reduces bureaucracy. It takes six existing regimes and collapses them into one, and it will mean a saving of about £2 billion over 10 years. The danger of delaying the deadline is that if the legislation fails to get through both Houses, we would have the worst of both worlds. We would have made people expect a delay and failed to deliver it. It is much better to do what the industry wants-to provide certainty for the trade.