The supermarkets fuelling boozy Britain

THE number of supermarkets and convenience stores selling alcohol 24 hours a day is on the rise. The latest Home Office figures reflect the situation across England and Wales at the end of March each year. The data shows 2,680 supermarkets and convenience stores had 24-hour alcohol licences in 2018. It means nearly one in every three places allowed to sell alcohol at any time of the day (7,041) was a supermarket or convenience store. The total number was up from 2,394 the year before and is the highest since modern records began in 2012. That year, there were 1,670 supermarkets and convenience stores allowed to sell alcohol at any time of the day. There were also 742 pubs, bars and nightclubs with 24-hour licences, 3,308 hotel bars and 1,461 other types of premise allowed to sell booze at any time of the day in 2018. While there are more hotel bars with 24-hour licences than supermarkets, that number has been trending downwards over time. But it is important to note that premises with a 24-hour licence do not necessarily operate 24 hours a day. Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 6,274 deaths specifically caused by alcohol across in England and Wales in 2017. That was up from 5,899 the year before and is the highest number since the 4,295 recorded in 2001. The number has trended upwards since then. Men accounted for 4,132 of the alcohol-specific deaths in 2017 - nearly twice as high as the 2,142 women. That’s perhaps unsurprising, given that UK man drinks around 18.4 litres of booze a year on average, according to the latest estimates from the World Health Organisation. That is more than three times the 4.8 litres that each woman consumes on average Mark Leyshon, Senior Policy and Research Manager, Alcohol Change UK, said: “Whilst the number of 24-hour alcohol licences in England and Wales has increased, it still represents only a tiny proportion of the overall number of premises licensed. “That said, many pubs and supermarkets do operate under extended licensing hours, and this has resulted in alcohol-related crime and disorder being stretched back into the early hours of the morning, meaning police and ambulance services are spread more thinly, often having to deal with problems as late as 5 or 6am. “The UK government needs to look again at the Licensing Act to ensure licensing authorities have the necessary tools to restrict the sale of alcohol in areas and at times where they deem it likely to cause harm.”