Pub takeaway drinks rules to be continued for 18 months

Covid licensing rules that allowed pubs in England and Wales to sell takeaway drinks have been extended until March 2025. 

The government decided to keep the licensing rules that allow customers to be severed alcohol through hatches when pubs were forced to close under pandemic rules in 2020. The rules allow pubs without an off-premises licence to see takeaway alcohol without needing to apply to their local council for permission. 

The rules were set to expire on 30 September, having already been extended twice during the pandemic. 

The move was aimed at saving the pubs industry from financial ruin during lockdowns and social distancing. 

The story was first reported by the Sun newspaper which quoted a source as saying the PM had “listened to the industry and heard them loud and clear.”