(2) how many and what percentage of applications for extended alcohol licences have been rejected since the coming into force of the Licensing Act 2003.
Under the Licensing Act 2003 there are no nationally set prescribed hours. Premises licence holders may apply to vary their hours; however, each application has to be considered locally on its merit and may be rejected. This information is not held centrally
Data collected for the latest DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment, were published on 8 November 2007 and show that, between April 2006 and March 2007, of the 162,053 total premises licences 5,126 were for 24 hours. It should be noted that, of these, 2,493 are hotels which only serve private guests and friends of guests. These premises were able to serve guests for 24 hours under the old licensing regime.
A breakdown by region is as follows:
Region 24 hour licences East midlands 221 East of England 400 London 417 North-east 135 North-west 1,511 South-east 685 South-west 1,095 Wales 179 West Midlands 279 Yorkshire and the Humber 204 Note: Information was not provided by every licensing authority.