A Private Members Bill is a rare thing in Parliament, for it affords backbenchers like me a rare opportunity to bring forward a piece of legislation that can end up becoming law.
Throughout history some significant laws have been brought forward in this way, some perhaps more noticeable than others, but all now impacting on our lives today. In the most recent ballot, I was lucky enough to have my name pulled out of the hat and
as a result bring forward my own piece of legislation. As a Parliamentarian with a long and proud background in hospitality, I am delighted to be bringing forward the Licensing Hours Extensions Bill, which will have its second reading next Friday.
This Bill will mean that on occasions of national significance, the Home Secretary will have the power to give a blanket order to the extension of licensing hours. Although a simple measure, I believe it will be significant for our pubs and hospitality industry, taking away, what from personal experience is an unnecessarily bureaucratic process and allows them to do what they do best on these special occasions for us all.
I’m also pleased to have the support of the British Beer and Pub Association in this endeavour who have commented the following: -“The BBPA has long championed this campaign to extend licensing hours and we’re proud to work with Andrew Ranger and his team to ensure this legislation is enacted.
This is a huge step in the right direction and will make it easier for pubs to stay open for longer during moments of national significance, like World Cup finals, when MPs are in recess. Let’s raise a glass to cutting red tape so it’s easier for people to gather together under one roof “.
At my Drop-in earlier this week, hosted alongside them and UK Hospitality, I was delighted to see such a strong cross-party consensus and support for the bill. Unfortunately, due to the calling of the election, this bill fell at the last Parliamentary
hurdle, I hope this time to be able to go that one step further and see it come into law, so that when that next big sporting moment comes, every pub can benefit and play its part.
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