Licensing: they got it right

The law of unintended consequences tends to rule the world. Human nature rarely responds to the promptings of politician and, far too often, the outcome is quite the opposite to what was planned.

Amazingly, that is emphatically not what has happened with the new Licensing Act, which celebrates - and that is the right word - its first birthday on Friday this week.

To the astonishment of many, the politicians have pretty much got it right. Staggered hours have taken the pressures off late-night pubs and bars. And fear of losing licences has focused the minds of retailers very sharply on who they let into their pubs, and how much they serve them.

The new hours have even encouraged young men in the 18 to 24 age group to stay longer in pubs. And because many are staying later, they are somehow finding the wherewithal to spend a little more money.

Nor have the new hours opened the doors to Armageddon, as so many pundits prophesied. Our survey of licensing officers shows that one-third believe disorder has declined since last November.

A similar number believe it has stayed the same, while only one in six licensing officers think things are worse and one in eight can't decide.

Those are not the figures that critics of the new licensing regime were anticipating. They are not the figures that the police were expecting, even though at one stage some years ago, they had been big supporters of extended hours.

Licensing Minister Shaun Woodward told delegates at the Responsible Drinks Retailing event in London this week, staged by Morning Advertiser and sister paper Off Licence News, that the trade has stepped-up to the mark in the past year.

He paid tribute to licensees everywhere for taking the issue of responsible drinking so seriously. And, of course, he was right to do so, for this has been

the hallmark of the licensed on-trade over the past

12 months.

Yes, there is still work to be done - for both on and off-trades - in stopping underage drinkers. But Challenge 21 is fast becoming universally adopted, and 16-year-olds in pubs will soon disappear.

Licensees everywhere must maintain the highest levels of vigilance to keep up the great work.

But they can reflect on a job well done, and say

to themselves, sometimes even politicians get things right.