‘Misguided Government plan amounts to direct attack on the public's right to know...'

PLANS to scrap laws requiring alcohol licensing notices and changes to local authority governance arrangements to be published in printed local newspapers amount to a direct attack on the public right to know, the local news media sector has said today.

- By MAIL REPORTER

As Ministers launch a consultation on licensing reform, which includes a proposal to remove the statutory requirement for alcohol licensing notices to be advertised in print local papers, industry leaders have warned that the plans would shroud local communities in secrecy.

If enacted, the proposal in the consultation - launched on 9 October by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Business Secretary Peter Kyle - would 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.