Pubs could be forced to close early under ‘nanny state’ measures to tackle harmful drinking.
In a bid to curb the “continental pub-style drinking culture” introduced by Sir Tony Blair, Health Secretary Andrew Gwynne said the government was considering “tightening the opening hours” of bars and pubs.
Mr Gwynne said the idea was being explored by ministers as part of efforts to improve health and tackle anti-social behaviour.
Prof Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, has told ministers that if current trends continue, 60 per cent of the NHS budget will end up being spent on preventable diseases, up from 40 per cent at present.
In addition to measures to tackle obesity, stricter measures against alcohol consumption are also being considered. This includes pushing for reductions in fat, sugar and salt content in everyday food.
Mr Gwynne insisted Labour was “not a nice police” or “supernanny” and said the arguments for such measures were both moral and economic.
He said Britain’s poor health record was “morally reprehensible” and there was “simply not enough money” for the NHS to cope with rising demand without such measures.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said Labour was considering banning smoking in pub gardens, despite warnings it could be the “death knell” for the pub.
Speaking at the Labour conference, Mr Gwynne said: “These are discussions we need to have, even if it’s just about tightening opening 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 measure flies in the face of the introduction of laws allowing pubs to apply for a 24-hour drinks licence under Sir Tony’s government.
“The previous Labour government’s decision to relax licensing laws was a great success, but it seems the new government wants to crack down on pubs in every way possible,” he said.
Wes Streeting, the health minister, said a shift from treatment to prevention of disease was key to avoiding the need for tax rises, stressing that the public was “ahead” of politicians in seeking measures to protect their health.
The Prime Minister has set up a health mission committee, chaired by Mr Streeting, to ask ministers from other departments to consider the health benefits and risks of all their policies.
Mr Gwynne said the board was working on a five-point plan, covering smoking, obesity, alcohol, inactivity and clean air, ahead of the spending review.
He said: “Alcohol harm is one of the key areas: the availability of alcohol, the harm that excessive drinking causes, domestic violence, the licensing laws.”
The minister said stricter licensing requirements could reduce crime and improve health.
“This is actually a big win for the Home Office because a lot of the domestic violence they deal with is a direct result of alcohol,” Mr Gwynne said.
Asked what Sir Chris’s views were on tightening licensing laws, he said: “He is very keen to see licensing laws overhauled” as alcohol-related deaths have risen by a third since 2019.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “It is patently untrue that the Government is considering changing the opening hours of alcohol licences.”
The hospitality industry said any restrictions on opening hours would be “half-baked” and could lead to further closures, with 50 pubs closing each month.
Mr Snowdon said: “We are already closing 50 pubs a month and any move to ban smoking outside and restrict opening hours will bring further risks.
“The loud support from ministers for the patronising measures is deeply worrying and must be opposed to protect this country’s heritage.”
The government held two meetings of its Health Mission Board, chaired by Mr Streeting.
His Health Secretary said that at the first meeting Sir Chris “set out in extremely clear terms the challenge facing the Government”.
Mr Gwynne said: “To put it bluntly, there is not enough money to sustain demand.
“At the moment, 40 per cent of the NHS budget is spent on preventative disease – the result of that. If we just keep investing more money, and addressing the demographic challenges, it goes up to 60 per cent. That’s not sustainable.”
Sir Chris’ presentation showed that women in poorer areas have a life expectancy of just 70, compared to 80 in richer areas. It also showed that those in the poorest areas are in poor health by the age of 52.
Mr Gwynne said: “That is a moral scandal, but it is also the economics of the madhouse.
“That’s why Wes [Streeting] says we shouldn’t play the role of fun police, or of ‘supernanny’ who wants to limit all the fun things in life.
“This is essentially an economic and moral argument that it is not tenable and that it is morally reprehensible for someone to get sick at the age of 52 with a disease that is completely preventable.”
The Labour MP also said he wanted to see more action to enforce the current licensing system and that swifter action should be taken to close pubs that breach licensing laws.
The number of alcohol-related deaths has increased since 2019, with more than 10,000 deaths now attributed to alcohol-related causes.
On Monday, Mr Streeting told a fringe meeting at the conference that the next spending review will be “mission-driven”, saying: “I think the public has been ahead of our politicians for some time and wants real action on public health.”
He said that without a shift to prevention, supported by NHS reform, Britain would see higher taxes, or more people forced to go private. The health service was “one of the biggest fiscal risks to the future of our public funding”, he said.
“The choice is health care reform, or no health care reform and public health reform, or higher health care costs, either through higher taxes or more people paying for private health insurance because health care isn’t there for them when they need it,” he said.
Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: “We welcome any move from this Government to reduce alcohol harm through evidence-based policies, such as tackling licensing hours. However, this must also include off-trade venues, as well as pubs and bars. It is outrageous that a bottle of vodka can still be bought at a petrol station at 2am.”
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said the licensing reform had not been discussed with the sector.
She said: “As the Deputy Prime Minister said, when business thrives, the economy thrives. That means we need to break down barriers to growth, not create them, and promote a positive dialogue between government and business. The last thing anyone needs is half-baked plans being forced upon them at the expense of trade.”
Mr Gwynne said the government was looking at a wide range of measures to tackle childhood obesity, including “major reformulation so that the food we buy, the processed food, is healthier than it is now”.
He said ministers were keen to work with industry to change the content of everyday foods and reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt, rather than being forced to do so by regulation.
“We don’t want to introduce regulations, we want to work with the industry as much as possible,” said the minister, who said food producers had so far been “very receptive”.
“I think they realize this is the only game they can play and if they don’t, there will be regulations,” he said.