Accredited official statistics

Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024

Published 24 October 2024

Applies to England and Wales

This release presents statistics on alcohol and late night refreshment licensing based on information from licensing authorities (LAs) in England and Wales.

Businesses and organisations (such as pubs, bars, cinemas, nightclubs, late-opening cafes, village and community halls and supermarkets) as well as individuals who want to sell or supply alcohol in England and Wales must have a licence or other authorisation from a LA - usually a local council. Law and policy on alcohol licensing is managed by the Home Office.

There are 3 types of licences individuals and organisations can apply for: premises licences, personal licences and club premises certificates.

1. Summary

As at 31 March 2024, there were:

• 900,300 personal licences
• 224,100 premises licences
• 13,000 club premises certificates
• 10,300 premises with 24-hour alcohol licences
• 182 cumulative impact areas (areas that have been identified as having a saturation of licenced premises and have special policies relating to new or variations in licences)
• 9 LAs that had late night levies in place

In the year ending 31 March 2024:

• 412 premises licence reviews were carried out, a 19% increase compared with the year ending 31 March 2022
• 147,300 temporary event notices (TENs) were given, a 50% increase compared with the year ending 31 March 2022
• 9 premises licences had conditions imposed due to concerns over spiking

To enable year-on-year comparability, the headline figures include estimates for 5 LAs that were unable to provide any data for the year ending 31 March 2024, as well as for specific categories where LAs were unable to provide the information. These figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

The user guide includes information about the coverage of the data, a glossary of terms and information on the conventions used in the statistics, legislation and regulations.

The accompanying data tables provide supplementary data to that presented in this release.

2. Personal licences

A personal licence authorises an individual to supply or authorise the supply of alcohol under the Licensing Act 2003.

As at 31 March 2024, there were 900,300 personal licences on issue in England and Wales. A personal licence is valid for the lifetime of the holder, unless surrendered, revoked or suspended, so as new licences are issued the number in circulation increases. Therefore, an increase in personal licences does not necessarily reflect an increase in active personal licence holders over this time.

Figure 1: Personal licences, England and Wales, as at 31 March 2015 to 31 March 2024

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 1

Notes:

1. Includes estimates for the 5 LAs that did not submit any data and the 3 LAs that were unable to provide data on personal licences.

Birmingham had the highest number of personal licences as at 31 March 2024 (13,255) and 31 March 2022 (12,412). North Yorkshire had the second highest number (12,558) and Leeds the third highest number (11,172).

3. Premises licences

A premises licence gives authority under the 2003 Act for a premises to:

• sell alcohol
• provide regulated entertainment
• provide late night refreshment

As at 31 March 2024, there were 224,100 premises licences on issue in England and Wales. Premises licences can accumulate if the premises ceases trading and the licence holder does not surrender the licence in relation to the premises. Therefore, the increase in premises licences shown in figure 2 does not necessarily reflect an increase in active premises licences over this time.

Figure 2: Premises licences, England and Wales, as at 31 March 2015 to 31 March 2024

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 1

Notes:

1. Includes estimates for the 5 LAs that did not submit any data and the one LA that was unable to provide data on premises licences.

Westminster had the highest number of premises licences on issue as at 31 March 2024 (4,137), and in all years since 31 March 2014. North Yorkshire had the second highest number (3,560) and Birmingham the third highest (3,508).

The region with the highest number of premises licences on issue as at 31 March 2024 was London (34,590), followed by the South East (31,428). The North East region had the lowest number of premises licences (8,329).

Figure 3: Premises licences by English region areas and Wales, as at 31 March 2024

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 2

Notes:

1. Ranked by the highest to lowest number of premises licences.
2. Does not include estimates for the 5 LAs that did not submit any data and the one LA that was unable to provide data on premises licences.

Per 100,000 population, Wales had the highest number of premises licenses (443) and the North East region had the fewest (307), as shown in figure 4.

Figure 4: Premises licences per 100,000 people, English region areas and Wales, as at 31 March 2024

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 2 and Population estimates for England and Wales: mid-2023

Notes:

1. Ranked by the highest to lowest number of premises licences, per 100,000 people.
2. Does not include estimates for the 5 LAs that did not submit any data and the one LA that was unable to provide data on premises licences.

From September 2022, premises licences that permitted the sale of alcohol for consumption on-site (on-sales) only were able to take advantage of an easement in the Business and Planning Act 2020 (related to COVID-19) allowing them to additionally carry out sales of alcohol off-site (off-sales; which includes delivery, takeaway and or service to customers seated in a separately licensed pavement area) without the need to amend their licence.

As at 31 March 2024, official statistics in development showed there were 37,126 premises licences that permitted on-sales of alcohol only, of which 2,490 (7%) additionally did off-sales courtesy of the Business and Planning Act 2020 regulatory easement.

4. Club premises certificates

A club premises certificate is required by qualifying members’ clubs (such as the Royal British Legion, or sports clubs) if they plan to sell or supply alcohol.

As at 31 March 2024, there were 13,000 club premises certificates in England and Wales, a 4% decrease compared with 31 March 2022 (13,500). As shown in figure 5, the number of club premises certificates has steadily declined (from 14,700 in 2016 to 13,000 in 2024). West Suffolk had the highest number of club premises certificates (222) as at 31 March 2024.

Figure 5: Club premises certificates, England and Wales, as at 31 March 2015 to 31 March 2024

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 1

Notes:

1. Includes estimates for the 5 LAs that did not submit any data and the one LA that was unable to provide data on club premises certificates.

5. Cumulative impact areas

Cumulative impact areas (CIAs) are areas where an assessment by the LA has found that there is a saturation of licensed premises and has determined that the ‘cumulative impact’ of any additional licensed premises could undermine the licensing objectives (for example, the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm).

As at 31 March 2024, there were 75 LAs with a total of 182 CIAs in place. This compares with 86 LAs with a total of 189 CIAs in place as at 31 March 2022. The highest number of CIAs were in Brent (12), Newcastle upon Tyne (9) and Greenwich (7).

6. Late night levies

In October 2012, LAs were given discretionary powers to introduce a late night levy through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. This allows LAs to collect a financial contribution from late-opening alcohol suppliers (between 12am and 6am) towards the cost of policing the night-time economy.

As at 31 March 2024, 9 LAs had a late night levy in place. The total amount raised from these was about £2.6 million. This was a similar amount to the year ending 31 March 2022 (£2.4 million; across 8 of the 9 LAs that provided information). Of the 9 LAs with late night levies in place, 6 were in the London region area: Camden, City of London, Hackney, Islington, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. Chelmsford, Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne also had late night levies in place.

Figure 6: Total amount raised by ‘late night levies’, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2024

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 14

Notes:

1. Ranked from the highest to lowest amount raised by late night levies.

7. Premises licence reviews

An LA can be asked by responsible authorities such as the police, local environmental health authority, local fire and rescue service, local public health body and others, to review a premises licence. They may do this if the licence is negatively impacting one or more of the licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm).

In the year ending 31 March 2024, 412 premises licence reviews were carried out, a 19% increase (+65) compared with the year ending 31 March 2022 (347). It is likely that licence review activity was impacted by COVID-19 in the year ending 31 March 2022. Of the 412 licences reviewed, 40% (163) were revoked or withdrawn, 12% (49) were suspended and for 8% (31) there was no further action taken. The remainder had licence conditions added or modified.

More than one reason can be given for a premises licence review, with the most common being crime and disorder (for 343 (83%) of reviews).

Table 1: Completed premises licence reviews by reason, England and Wales, years ending 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2022

Reason	Completed reviews year ending 31 March 2024	Completed reviews year ending 31 March 2022	Percentage change
Total	412	347	+19%
Crime and disorder	343	290	+18%
Public safety	108	132	-18%
Public nuisance	119	119	0%
Protection of children	130	102	+27%

Source: Home Office, Alcohol licensing, England and Wales, April 2023 to March 2024: data tables; table 8

Notes:

1. Does not include estimates for the 5 LAs that did not submit any data and the 3 LAs that were unable to provide data on completed premises licence reviews.
2. Note that more than one reason can be given for completing a review.

8. 24-hour alcohol licences

A 24-hour licence refers to premises that are licensed for the sale or supply of alcohol 24 hours per day (but may not operate 24 hours per day).

As at 31 March 2024, there were 10,300 premises with 24-hour alcohol licences, a 3% decrease compared with 31 March 2022 (10,500). Of the 10,300 premises with 24-hour alcohol licences, 38% were for supermarkets and stores, 31% for hotel bars and 22% for other premises types.

9. Temporary event notices (TENs)

TENs are used to authorise one-off events involving licensable activities, subject to certain criteria and limits.

In the year ending 31 March 2024, around 147,300 TENs were given. Whilst this represents a 50% increase compared with the year ending 31 March 2022 (97,900), the number has returned to similar levels prior to COVID-19 (147,200 in the year ending 31 March 2018).

10. Spiking concerns

To understand how local areas are utilising additional licensing guidance in relation to spiking, statistics on conditions imposed on licenses, and licenses revoked specifically related to concerns raised about spiking incidents, have been included in this publication for the first time. They are designated as official statistics in development to acknowledge that they are new and that further development of the data collection and quality assurance is needed.

In the year ending 31 March 2024, there were 9 premises with additional licence conditions imposed due to concerns regarding spiking. There were no premises with licences revoked due to concerns over spiking.

11. Forthcoming and previous statistical releases

Frequency of release: Biennially

Publications are pre-announced on the Home Office statistics release calendar.

Previous statistical releases are available on the Alcohol licensing collection page.

12. Feedback and enquiries

Home Office statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly at [email protected] with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website.

Home Office responsible statistician: Jenny Bradley

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