Government plans for secret licensing notices are an alarming attack on YOUR right to know

Plans to scrap laws requiring licensing notices to be published in local newspapers are a direct threat to the democratic process

- By Neil Pickford Managing Editor

Government ministers have launched a consultation on licensing reform, which includes a proposal to remove the statutory requirement for alcohol licensing notices to be advertised in printed local newspapers such as the one you are holding your hands now.

News industry leaders, including the editor and management of this newspaper, are warning that the plans would shroud local communities in secrecy.

If enacted, the proposal in the consultation - launched by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Business Secretary Peter Kyle on October 9would mean that plans to open a new pub or nightclub, or for an existing venue to change its opening hours, would no longer be publicised within local communities.

The government's Licensing Taskforce - which made the initial recommendation to scrap alcohol licensing notices in local papers - was set up to review the Licensing Act 2003 which applies to England and Wales.