24-hour drinking laws have led to an increase in alcohol-fuelled incidents.

The UK’s 24-hour licensing laws have cost taxpayers £100 million and failed to reduce drink-fuelled violence, a new report states.

According to the survey by the Local Government Association (LGA), around seven out of ten police authorities, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and councils have reported an increase or no change in alcohol-related incidents since the 2003 Act came into effect.

Nearly one in three PCTs have actually reported an increase in alcohol-fuelled incidents whilst half of police authorities said the Act has simply led to alcohol-related disorder occurring later at night.

The licensing laws have also been blamed for placing an increased strain on resources, mainly through a rise in A&E admissions and added need for policing.

On a positive note, the report concluded that the new Act had been effective in streamlining licensing laws and had improved the way that public sector organisations work together on licensing issues.

Sir Simon Milton, Chairman of the LGA, has called for more to be done to address the UK’s drinking culture. He said: “The new drinks laws have made no impact whatsoever on reducing the alcohol-related violence that blights town centres and turns them into no-go areas on a Friday and Saturday night. The vast majority of local councils, police and hospitals have reported no change at all, with violent incidents generally just being shifted later into the evening.

“The Government was always going to fall short on its promises to curb excessive drinking because new licensing laws alone were never going to be enough to change this endemic culture of alcohol and violence.”

To read the results of the LGA’s report in full, click here

By Natasha Piscitelli