Deregulation (Restaurant Licensing Hours) Order 2002

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 7:50 pm on 28 February 2002.

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Photo of Lord Addington Lord Addington Liberal Democrat 7:50, 28 February 2002

My Lords, I shall be even briefer than the noble Baroness, who has paved the way for what I have to say. This seems to me to be about an extra certification requirement for doing something that is fairly normal practice in many areas, so its removal is perfectly sensible. I agree with the noble Baroness as regards the idea of reform of licensing hours. Every time that that ship has appeared on the horizon, it seems that we have had to deal with business in other ports, for it disappears very rapidly from view. However, the order is a small step towards that goal. I urge the Minister to encourage people in her department to consider the example of Scotland, where the reform of licensing hours has actually led to much less, not more, bad behaviour.