Pubs could stay open until 1am to celebrate Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The hospitality sector could receive a much-needed boost next summer and be allowed to stay open for an extra two hours during the bank holiday weekend marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
According to the BBC, Home Secretary Priti Patel is hoping to extend licensing hours in England and Wales from the usual 11pm to 1am on Thursday 2 June to Saturday 4 June, allowing pubs, clubs and bars to benefit from extra trade.
The Platinum Jubilee will be a full-scale celebration against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace.
The 2003 Licensing Act allows the home secretary place an order before Parliament allowing businesses to stay open longer to mark special occasions.
There will be a month-long consultation over the plans, and people can submit their views about the move to extend licensing hours.
The government said it would also take into account issues raised by police, licensing authorities and alcohol awareness groups.
Downing Street has previously pushed back last orders for the royal weddings in 2011 and 2018, as well as for the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016 and the World Cup in 2014.
During her speech to the nation on Christmas Day, the Queen said she looked forward to the event.
She hoped it would be “an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a sense of togetherness; a chance to give thanks for the enormous changes of the last seventy years – social, scientific and cultural – and also to look ahead with confidence”.
On February 6 next year, she will become the first British monarch to have ruled for 70 years.
The hospitality sector has been badly bruised by the pandemic, with the latest Plan B measures worsening woes across the industry.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has since put together a £1bn additional package to help businesses struggling over the festive period.