The Home Office has commenced a consultation tackling a potential nationwide relaxation of licensing hours during this year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil to enable pubs and other on-trade premises to sell alcohol and late night refreshment to supporters during England's matches.

In a previous e-bulletin, we gave examples of when there might be scope for licensing hours to be relaxed. For a brief overview of the current situation vs. the proposed order, please see our Fifa Factsheet. If the consultation proves a success, on-trade licensed premises would be automatically entitled to sell alcohol and late night refreshments during England's matches, rather than having to apply for a TEN, which runs the risk of being given a red card by local police.

Although the Secretary of State has so far only relaxed licensing hours during the Royal Wedding in 2011 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the success of the London 2012 Olympics has been a push in the right direction towards making it a hat-trick for the upcoming World Cup. The publication of this consultation is a positive sign that, with community spirit in relation to sporting events remaining at an all time high, there is a real chance of the Home Office relaxing licensing hours during the World Cup this year.

The consultation specifically seeks views from you if you own or work in on-trade premises, (as well as from the police, members of the public and licensing authorities) on issues such as geography, timing and public order. If you would like to send us your comments, we will be collating these to pass on to the  Home Office.

Key issues under consultation

The main questions which the consultation addresses are:

  1. Is the current TEN system meeting requirements, or should a national relaxation of licensing hours for England's matches be preferred?
  2. Would the proposed relaxation be an own-goal for any of the following licensing objectives:
  • Prevention of crime and disorder
  • Public safety
  • Prevention of public nuisance
  • Protection of children from harm
  1. Should the proposal extend to 3, 3.5 or 4 hours after the scheduled kick off time?
  2. Should the proposal be limited to England, or should it also include Wales?

The consultation remains open until 26 March 2014.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.