MINISTERS are to delay until after the general election plans to allow pubs to extend their opening hours amid fears that it will fuel binge drinking and disorder.

A series of bureaucratic hurdles have been constructed that are likely to delay implementation of the Licencing Act, which was passed by Parliament last year, until autumn next year.

The latest, according to sources in the pub trade, is that regulations specifying fees and other details for the new system are to be put out to consultation, protracting the process for a further three months. Ministers have already said that there must be a six-month gap between the issue of separate guidance to local authorities, which is expected shortly, and the point at which publicans can apply for new licences. There will then be another nine-month transitional period before these take effect.

Local authorities, who will take over pub licensing from magistrates’ courts, are not against another delay because they would otherwise receive their first applications just before the Christmas holidays. Similarly, publicans want to avoid filling in forms during their busiest period.

The effect will be to defer its most controversial aspects, including public hearings in which residents challenge the opening hours of nearby bars, until beyond the election expected in May next year.

David Blunkett will announce a summer blitz on under-age and binge drinking on Monday as part of a government drive to curb alcohol-fuelled disorder. The initiative, first promised in April, will be directed by Paul Evans, the former police chief from Boston, Massachusetts, who now heads the police standards unit in the Home Office.

The police will be encouraged to use existing powers to deal with pubs and clubs selling alcohol to under-18s and in some cases local councils will be encouraged to publish lists of premises found to be involved in under-age drinking.

The licensing shake-up, billed initially as a deregulatory reform and judged popular with drinkers, has since been overtaken by mounting concern about binge drinking.

A confidential report by the Metropolitan Police also suggested that extending pub hours would lead to more violent crime, disorder and disturbances for residents by displacing an entrenched drinking culture over longer periods.

Chris Hepher, a licensing lawyer for Kidd Rapinet, said: “There have already been so many delays. We are now at the stage where we should have been in September or October last year.”

Labour used its pledge of extended pub opening to woo young voters in the 2001 general election with text messages saying: “Cdnt give a xxxx 4 lst orders? vote labour on thrsdy 4 xtra time.”

Julie Kirkbride, the Shadow Culture Secretary, accused ministers of running scared and said that the Department for Culture was at loggerheads with the Home Office over its implications for violent crime and disorder. She said: “On the one hand they have their general election pledge, which has disappointed many. On the other they have growing evidence that extending pub opening hours will only exacerbate problems of binge drinking, poor health and antisocial behaviour.”

Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat culture spokesman, said: “It is almost certain to be delayed until after the election, which will be another promise broken. There is growing concern that this liberalisation without the ability of local authorities to take local factors into account will lead to serious problems in the streets.”

Many local authorities also fear that the fees may not cover their administration costs and may therefore push up council tax bills.

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