23/06/2026
Hello Everyone -
At the bottom of this post is some text that we want as many people as possible to copy and paste into an email and send to the Executive as part of a consultation on changing alcohol licensing.
All you need to do is copy and paste the information at the bottom of this email into an email, add your name and address and send it to [email protected] before midnight on Tuesday 23 June.
Instead of committing to properly updating our alcohol licensing laws (as recommended by a recent independent report by the University of Stirling), the Department of Communities are currently running yet another consultation on making changes to our alcohol licensing system – tinkering at the edges by creating a new category of alcohol licence for cultural venues.
Whilst this would be a very small step in the right direction helping artistic venues and events to sell alcohol, we all know that we need fundamental change to bring our licensing system kicking and screaming into the 21st century so we can see a much better choice of pubs, bars, micropubs and taprooms here.
We have created a template response - both email and the answers we believe most useful to the questions asked - to the Department for Communities’ consultation below. It says cultural venues should be allowed to easily access a licence to sell alcohol – but that this doesn’t go anywhere near enough to the real change we must see to end the ‘surrender principle’. Please feel free of course to add your own comments and stories!!
The more people who respond to the consultation, the better our chances are of convincing ministers and civil servants that fundamental change to our licensing system and the ‘surrender principle’ is needed.
Thanks for your help!
Best wishes,
Ruth Sloan
Director, CAMRA NI
https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-market-diversity-and-innovation-liquor-licensing
Email to: [email protected]
I am emailing as an individual consumer in order to reply to the Department’s consultation on Market Diversity and Innovation (Liquor Licensing).
I have answered each question below.
Best wishes,
[Your Name]
Introduction
Q1: I am responding as an individual.
Yes
Q5: Do you currently operate under one of the following licences? (Please indicate all that apply)
None of the above / do not have a licence
Market diversity and the current liquor licensing regime
Q6 What do you think about the level of market diversity in the types of licensed premises in Northern Ireland?
Low level of diversity
Please explain your answer:
There is an extremely low level of market diversity in the types of licenced premises in Northern Ireland, as evidenced by the restrictive number of licence categories and the impact of the restrictive and anti-competitive liquor licensing regime, including the surrender principle.
The current market and liquor licensing regime consists of extremely large public houses with an extremely poor diversity of choice of beer and cider, meaning the vast majority of pubs save the same brands of beer from global, multinational brewing companies. The vast majority of beer consumed here is not produced in Northern Ireland.
The surrender principle means I cannot get access to a good choice of beer and cider styles and products from local and independent producers in Northern Ireland, due to restrictive tie agreements with global brewers that are a direct result of the surrender principle. This leads to a stranglehold of large, global brewing and pub-owning businesses on most taps and packaged drinks on offer in the majority of pubs in Northern Ireland.
The existing market also deprives me as a consumer of having access to a wide range of venues, including specialist pubs, micropubs, wine bars and brewery taprooms which are thriving in Great Britain and across Europe.
This is also true for a range of other venues, organisations and enterprises in the arts, music and cultural sectors which are unable to obtain a licence to serve alcohol in a way which is ancillary to the main purpose of their premises and enterprises.
Q7: Does the current licensing regime adequately support market diversity in licensed venue type?
Do not support.
Please explain your answer with reference to the needs of (a) consumers, (b) prospective licensees, (c) current licensees, or (d) other as applicable:
The restrictive and anti-competitive liquor licensing system, including the surrender principle, stifles choice for consumers and innovation in the hospitality sector, as concluded by the independent review by the University of Stirling.
The market at present prevents competition, makes it difficult for individuals and small businesses to enter the beer and pubs sector and had led to a loss of community pubs across Northern Ireland as licences are transferred from pubs to off-licences. This had led to pub closures and reduces the opportunity for pubs to act a social hub for communities (particularly in rural areas).
There is no opportunity for me as a consumer to enjoy a range of specialist licenced venues such as a micropub, brewery taproom (the producers licence provision is too restrictive to make it viable for most), wine bar, bottle shop or a range of artistic and cultural venues that we believe should be able to serve alcohol to meet consumer demand for innovative, local and independent products.
I would also support performance venues, artistic and cultural spaces and community-led organisations to be able to serve alcohol in order to attract customers and increase viability.
The surrender principle also stifles choice of beer and cider styles and products from local and independent producers, due to restrictive tie agreements with global brewers that are a direct result of the surrender principle. This leads to a stranglehold of large, global brewing and pub-owning businesses on most taps and packaged drinks on offer in the majority of pubs in Northern Ireland.
The existing system, including the occasional licence provision, also prevents innovation and for a range of events to be held. This includes beer and cider festivals which is much more difficult to run or run viably in Northern Ireland. This prevents a diversity of beer styles and products being offered to me as a consumer.
Q8: Are there venues where the sale of alcohol in parallel to a form of entertainment / cultural activity / business should be permitted that are not currently supported by the licensing regime?
Yes
Venues
Q9 What type of venue(s) is (are) not currently supported?
Please specify:
The current system does not properly support occasional beer festivals; micropubs; wine bars; specialist pubs; pubs seeking to showcase local and independent beers; specialist beer styles and products; bottle shops; brewery taprooms; grassroots music venues; purpose-built nightclubs; listening bars; independent cultural; hybrid and multi-use arts and performance spaces; galleries and studios that host cultural events; warehouses or non-traditional spaces used for music, performance or cultural activity; q***r nightlife and LGBTQ+ cultural spaces; artist-led spaces.
Q10: In what way is more support needed?
Please explain your answer:
The liquor licensing system needs a complete overhaul in order to remove the restrictive categories of licence and allow open, free and fair competition so that any and all venues can apply for a liquor licence as long as they individuals and premises involved are deemed to be suitable. The surrender principle and the ability for existing premises should be removed entirely from the liquor licencing system, and there should be no cap on the number of premises allowed to operate a liquor licence.
The occasional licencing system should be reformed to allow those running volunteer-led beer and cider festivals – as well as cultural events, charities, organisations and events – to easily apply for a temporary licence to serve alcohol. Responsible people and organisations
Q11: If no further support is needed, please explain your answer
N/A
Liquor Licence - Categories of Premises
Q12: Do you support expanding the categories of premises that can apply for a liquor licence?
Yes
Please explain your answer:
Whilst I would prefer the system of categories of licence to be removed, in the absence of desperately needed wholesale reform of the liquor licence system to ensure free and fair competition, I support expanding the categories of premises that can apply for a liquor licence as any improvements to the diversity of venues and consumer choice would be welcome.
I do not believe that a narrow expansion of the “place of public entertainment” category is sufficient. The Department should be clear about the distinction between: expanding eligibility under an existing type of licence; and creating a genuinely new Cultural Venue licence.
A new licence for temporary events such as festivals or artistic events should also be considered.
Place of public entertainment licence
Q13: Do you think the categories of premises eligible for a place of public entertainment licence should be expanded?
Yes
Q14 What advantages are there from expanding the categories of venues eligible for a place of public entertainment licence?
Advantages to expanding:
Expanding the categories eligible would assist with artistic, cultural and music venues who largely operate outside the categories in the existing liquor licensing regime, without the need to get a costly and prohibitively bureaucratic licence under one of the existing liquor licence categories such as a pub or restaurant.
This in turn would allow for a greater diversity of venues, events and attractions being able to serve alcohol as an ancillary part of their event or venue.
It would also help to meet consumer demand and give greater access to market for Northern Ireland’s local and independent breweries and cider makers to sell their products. At present they are largely prohibited from doing so due to the inadequacies of the producers licence and the fact that the surrender principle leads to restrictive supply agreements in the majority of pubs, as evidence by the University of Stirling’s review.
However, whilst such a change would be a small step in the right direction, I believe that fundamental reform of the liquor licensing system and ending the surrender principle is the best way to meet consumer demand, allow fair entry to the market and allow the greatest range of artistic and cultural organisations to serve alcohol to their customers.
Further reform to the existing permitted hours for places of public entertainment is also necessary for many late night and music venues who need greater flexibility.
Q15 What disadvantages or risks are there from expanding the categories of venues eligible for a place of public entertainment licence?
Disadvantages to expanding:
I am concerned that expanding the categories of licence does not go far enough and does not deliver the wholesale liberalisation of the licensing regime that is needed to truly unleash the economic and cultural benefits of having new entrants being able to access the market in a fair, open and transparent manner in order to meet consumer demand for greater diversity of venues and range of beer and cider available.
Final Comments
Q16: Do you have any additional comments?
Final comments:
The Department should be more ambitious than the proposals being consulted on here.
I believe that reform of the liquor licensing system and the surrender principle, as recommended by the University of Stirling’s independent review, is the only way to deliver reform that will truly work for consumers, producers, artistic and cultural venues and organisations, and for a functioning beer and pubs market delivering economic growth.
The reforms proposed here will not end the current anti-competitive nature of the licensing regime which means that small and local brewers cannot sell their products in the vast majority of local pubs where multinational brewing companies dominate; and which means that there is not a diverse rage of licenced venues to meet consumer demand.
Reforming the surrender principle would ensure that communities can continue to be served by well-run local pubs where people can continue to enjoy the various social benefits provided well-run community pubs.
