Pubs may be forced to close early as part of “nanny state” measures targeting harmful drinking.
The government is considering “tightening the opening hours” of bars and pubs, Public Health Secretary Andrew Gwynne said, as part of a drive to roll back the “continental European café-style drinking culture” launched by Sir Tony Blair.
Gwynne said the idea was being examined by ministers as part of efforts to improve health services and tackle antisocial behaviour.
Chief Medical Officer Prof Sir Chris Whitty told ministers that if current trends continue, 60 per cent of the NHS budget will eventually be spent on diseases that can be prevented. The current figure is 40 per cent.
Alongside a crackdown on alcohol consumption, measures to address obesity are also being considered, such as pressuring the food industry to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content of everyday foods.
Insisting that Labour was not the “fun police” or a “super nanny”, Mr Gwynne said such measures were based on both moral and economic grounds.
He said the poor state of health in England was “morally reprehensible” and the NHS “does not have enough money” to meet rising demand without such action.
Sir Keir Starmer has announced that Labour is considering banning smoking in pub gardens, despite warnings that it could be the “death knell” for pubs.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Mr Gwynne said: “These are the discussions we need to be having – even if it’s just about tightening some working hours, particularly where there are concerns about people drinking too much.”
Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the move contradicted laws introduced under Sir Tony’s government allowing pubs to apply for 24-hour drinking licences.
“The last Labour government’s decision to relax licensing laws was a huge success but it looks like the new government wants to hit pubs hard by any means necessary,” he said.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was important to focus on preventing diseases rather than treating them to avoid the need for tax increases, adding that the public was “ahead” of politicians in taking measures to protect their health.
The prime minister has set up a health mission board, chaired by Streeting, which asks other ministries to assess the health benefits and risks of their policies.
Gwynne said ahead of the spending review the council was working on a five-point plan covering smoking, obesity, alcohol, inactivity and clean air.
“Alcohol harms are one of the most important areas: availability of alcohol, harms from excessive drinking, domestic violence, licensing laws,” he said.
The minister said a restriction on licensing hours could reduce crime and improve health at the same time.
“It’s actually a big win for the Home Office because a lot of the domestic violence they have to deal with is a direct result of alcohol,” Mr Gwynne said.
Asked about Sir Chris’s views on reining in licensing laws, he said: “He is very pleased with the licensing laws being renewed,” adding that alcohol-related deaths had risen by a third since 2019.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “It is completely untrue that the Government is considering changing alcohol licensing hours.”
The hospitality industry said any restrictions on licensing hours would be “sloppy” and could lead to further closures at a time when 50 pubs are closing every month.
“We already have 50 pubs closing every month and banning outside smoking and restricting opening hours will lead to further risks,” Snowdon said.
“It is deeply worrying that ministers are giving full backing to nanny state measures and must be opposed if this country’s heritage is to be preserved.”
The government held two meetings of the health mission board under the chairmanship of Mr Streeting.
The Public Health Secretary said Sir Chris had “set out in particularly strong terms the challenge facing the Government” at the first meeting.
Mr Gwynne said: “To put it bluntly, there is not enough money to sustain the rate of demand.
“Currently 40% of the NHS budget is spent on preventative care – the result of this. As we spend more money, tackling demographic challenges, that rises to 60%. Now that’s not sustainable.”
Sir Chris’ presentation showed that the life expectancy of women in poorer areas was just 70, while in richer areas it was 80. He also showed that those in the poorest areas fell into poor health by the age of 52.
Mr Gwynne said: “This is a moral scandal but it is also the economics of the madhouse.
“That’s why Wes [Streeting] It tells us that we are not in the game of being the fun police or the ‘super nanny’ who wants to curb the fun things in life.
“This is actually both an economic and a moral argument; it is not sustainable and it is morally reprehensible that someone’s health is being damaged by a completely preventable disease at the age of 52.”
The Labour MP also said he wanted to see more action to enforce the current licensing regime and see quicker action to close pubs that breach licensing laws.
Alcohol-related deaths have been on the rise since 2019, with more than 10,000 deaths due to alcohol-related causes.
On Monday, Mr Streeting told a sideline at the conference that the next spending review would be “task-focused”, adding: “I think the public have been ahead of our politicians for some time and wanting real action on public health.”
He said Britain would see higher taxes or more people forced to move into the private sector unless the switch to prevention, underpinned by NHS reform, was made. He said the health service was “one of the biggest financial risks to the future of our public finances”.
“The options include reforming healthcare, the lack of healthcare and public healthcare reform, or increasing the cost of healthcare through higher taxes or having more people pay to turn to private healthcare because they can’t get healthcare when they need it,” he said.
Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: “We welcome any moves by this Government to reduce alcohol harm using evidence-based policies, such as addressing licensing hours. However, this must include pubs and bars as well as off-trade venues. It is scandalous that a bottle of vodka can still be bought at a petrol station at 2am.”
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the licensing reforms had not been discussed with the sector.
He said: “As the Deputy Prime Minister said, when businesses thrive, the economy thrives. That means removing, not creating, barriers to growth and developing a positive dialogue between government and businesses. The last thing anyone needs is half-baked plans being imposed on them, to the detriment of business.”
Mr Gwynne said the Government was looking at a wide range of measures to tackle childhood obesity, including “a broader reformulation of the processed foods we buy to make them healthier than they currently are”.
He said ministers were keen to work with industry to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content of everyday foods and should do so rather than be forced into it by regulation.
The minister said, “We do not want to impose regulations, we want to work with the sector as much as we can,” adding that food producers have been “very positive” so far.
“I think they realize that this is the only game to be played, and if they don’t, the normalization process will begin,” he said.