Government confirms off-sales easement will not continue beyond 31st March 2025

We understand that the outcome of Home Office consultation on ‘Alcohol in licensed pavement areas’ is due to be published in the next few days. The Consultation, which ran from May until July this year, considered making it easier for hospitality businesses to sell alcohol in pavement areas.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government passed regulations allowing licensed premises to sell alcohol for takeaway, delivery and to drink in pavement areas, without making a formal application to vary their premises licence.

These regulations are due to expire at the end of March 2025, and the consultation was published so the Government could consider options to make it easier for the hospitality industry to sell alcohol to customers seated in outside areas.

It is our understanding that the outcome of the consultation is as follows:

1. The Government will not extend or make permanent the temporary easement passed under the regulations. This will expire on 31 March 2025.
2. The Government will be amending the s.182 Guidance to advise local licensing authorities to accept a minor variation when adding off-sales to a premises licence permanently.

The consultation received 67 responses, from licensing authorities, trade organisations, residents’ organisations and members of the public.

Most of the responses did not support the Government’s options to make it easier for the hospitality industry to sell alcohol for pavement areas, and therefore on 31st March those operators who have relied upon the easement in recent years will no longer be able to do so.

Dame Diana Johnson, The Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention, said in the House of Commons today:

“While the Government must accept the results of the consultation exercise conducted under the previous administration, we are disappointed that there was not a consensus in favour of retaining an easement from which many pubs and pubgoers have benefited, and which supports our objectives both to promote the growth of the UK economy, and specifically to support the nation’s pub trade.”

We expect the full written response from the Home Office to be published imminently, following which we will provide further commentary.

For futher information and queries, please feel free to contact Felix Faulkner, or any of our other licensing solicitors.