Queen's Speech is set for November 13

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has three weeks to firm up the draft of the Alcohol and Entertainment Bill if it is to be announced in the Queen's Speech.

Robin Cook, leader of the House of Commons, has confirmed that the Queen's Speech will take place on November 13 and insiders say they are as certain as they can be that the licensing bill is on the list.

But despite this tight deadline, there is still widespread trade concern over the detail of the bill, including fears that the government will not allow a long-enough transition period for the new system to be introduced.

Trade leaders hoping to influence the detail of the bill must now step up their efforts to do so before the draft is completed.

Some industry leaders are concerned that there is not enough time for everything to be processed. "It needs to move faster, or we won't meet the deadlines," one industry spokesman, who asked not to be named, said.

But another industry source said that although there were still some key issues that needed to be addressed this would not hold up the process. "People are working 24 hours around the clock to try to make sure these issues are resolved," he added.

"I would hope that in the next month or so all of the major crossroads would have been crossed. I confidently think we will get through this with quite a few victories for the trade."

But tension within the trade remains. The British Beer and Pub Association last week revealed that licensing minister Kim Howells had given his assurance that licensees would not need to reapply en masse for their existing licences under the new system.

The association also released details of a timetable which would see reform brought in from July 2004.

But the proposals have now been questioned by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).

Its chief executive Nick Bish said other trade associations had not yet reached any agreement on the proposals, which he says beg as many questions as they answer. He also warned that the proposals implied huge logistical burdens and cost issues for businesses.

But the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations' chief executive Tony Payne said he disagreed with the ALMR and was happy with the way the government was moving forward.

"The most important thing is that licensees don't have to reapply to keep their existing licence conditions," Mr Payne said. "But it's also important that we have that chance to air our concerns. If we refuse to take part and put our heads in the sand, horrendous things will be brought in.

"If we leave it up to the officials to make the decisions things will be much worse. We might not be happy with local authorities gaining control of licensing but we have to accept it and make ourselves part of the process."