In January, my Licensing Hours Extension Bill moved another step closer to becoming an Act of Parliament, passing its second reading.

The bill will ensure we never again have a situation like last summer where many pubs weren’t able to open earlier for us to show support for our Lionesses in the World Cup Final.

As readers may know, our pubs and other licensed venues can only extend their opening hours by either individually applying to the local council at a cost of £21 and waiting up to five days at a minimum or having the government issue blanket relaxations for all premises.

The government can only do this when parliament is sitting, and best practice is for the home secretary to complete a public consultation and debate in both the House of Commons and Lords. This can take up to six months.

Under my legislation, the government would no longer have to go through this long process and parliament would not need to be sitting. Instead, a minister will have the power to grant blanket licence extensions after brief consultation with the relevant bodies.

I know how much the hospitality industry contributes to our economy and how hard those in the industry work, I worked in it myself. Many are still struggling to recover after the pandemic, where it is estimated in 2020 that £200m was lost every single day.

I know my bill won’t solve all the problems facing the industry, the VAT hospitality rate needs to be cut to 12.5 per cent and business rates need an urgent review.

But it is something the industry has long been asking for and, if approved, it will ensure that our locals, the beating heart of our community, are always able to welcome us through their doors at times of national celebration.

This article was first written for the Sunderland & South Tyneside branch magazine CAMRA Angle.

Photo: Robin Sanderson