Hotels have most 24-hour licences
Most businesses with 24-hour licences to serve alcohol are hotels which are licensed to serve their residents, according to new Government statistics.
The figures showed that 5,100 premises have 24-hour licences, while fewer than 50,000 premises have licences to sell hot food after 11pm.
The statistics are the first to be published since the Licensing Act 2003, which allowed 24-hour pub opening, came into force in November 2005.
Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said:
"Less than 3% of premises are licensed to sell alcohol round-the-clock and two-thirds of those are hotels, which have always been able to serve their guests for 24 hours a day."Only around 1% of premises have 24-hour licences to sell alcohol to the public - and many only open longer hours on special occasions."
