As well as chairing UKHospitality, I also chair the Institute of Licensing, and I’ve heard throughout my career from businesses who have been unable to grow or adapt because of unnecessary and poorly thought through rules.
There are many facets of the current licensing regime that contribute to that, but very rarely have I heard opening hours cited as one of them.
The headlines we saw yesterday about extending opening hours to drive growth simply do not reflect reality, or the substance of what is being proposed.
No one is suggesting this package is a silver bullet to solve the existential cost challenges our sector faces, but the proposals will improve and modernise the system to make it work better for businesses.
Economic challenges
The only way to solve the harsh economic realities facing pubs is through the Budget, which is why our #TaxedOut campaign continues to put enormous pressure on the Government, in large part thanks to the authentic publicans that have contributed to the campaign.
Lowering business rates, fixing NICs and cutting VAT are three of the easiest ways to support our pubs. If the Government believes that hospitality is the beating heart of our communities, as it has repeatedly stated, I expect them to support our sector at the Budget. We will be holding their feet to the fire on that.
I completely understand the anger and frustration from publicans about opening hours headlines – costs, staffing, consumer habits changing are all reasons why simply opening later and for longer isn’t the answer.
So, why is now the right time to work on changes on licensing? Because there is never a wrong time to make things easier for businesses.
The Licensing Taskforce, chaired by Nick Mackenzie of Greene King and steered by leading industry bodies like UKHospitality, is genuinely a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reopen the Licensing Act 2003.
That’s why we strived to take it back to the original intent of the act, which was to focus on economic growth and consumer need, as well as improving conditions for your businesses and placing hospitality at the heart of the Government’s high street agenda.
Substantial measures
The measures being considered are substantial in their own right – and include making economic growth a licensing condition, a new national licensing policy framework to end the postcode lottery, an amnesty on unnecessary legacy conditions, more Temporary Event Notices for special occasions, an end to newspaper advertising requirements, and much more.
These will support businesses in the way they operate and free up opportunities for growth, as well as resetting the licensing requirements.
We’ve also managed to secure these changes while resisting calls for licensing fee hikes and the inclusion of additional and unnecessary licensing requirements.
Increasing importance
Commentary about opening hours aside, I really believe that this announcement will seem increasingly important in the coming years as our sector recovers and evolves. We will be far freer to innovate.
Let’s not allow our critics dominate the debate. The sector should endorse these proposals for what they are: sensible and pragmatic changes.
I do recognise that for these changes to have the desired effect, we need hospitality businesses that can afford to innovate and take advantage of a more liberal licensing regime.
That’s why campaigning ahead of the Budget for a reduced tax burden for the sector remains our primary focus. Our #TaxedOut campaigning has been heard in Government. We have solidified the case that hospitality is hardest hit.
We now need the Government to take action. We’re going to continue banging the drum for the sector ahead of the Budget, and we’re going to continue to pick up simple improvements to the wider operating landscape where we can, too.