Pubs will be able to sell takeaway pints during new national lockdown

In some good news for hospitality businesses in Greater Manchester and across England, people will be able to purchase takeaway alcohol during lockdown.

This means pubs will be allowed to sell takeaway pints, as the planned lockdown rules are relaxed in England, the BBC reports.

Customers will have to pre-order their booze, either online or via phone or text, and you’ll be able to collect it.

Collection is allowed as long as the customer doesn’t enter the premises, the legislation says, and deliveries will also be permitted.

While pub bosses have hailed it as a small victory, they say venues should be able to sell booze in the same way as off-licences can.

In the original plans for the new national lockdown which begins tomorrow, Thursday November 5th, takeaway alcohol was banned.

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Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “Takeaway alcohol from pubs if it is pre-ordered and customers don’t enter the premises is movement, but still not anywhere near enough.

“Supermarkets and off-licences can still sell alcohol, so this is grossly unfair on pubs with off-licences.

“It remains the case that to help pubs and brewers survive, and to stop up to 7.5 million pints from being wasted, the government needs to give pubs the same ability to sell off-licence alcohol as it did in the first lockdown.”

Kate Nichols, from the lobby group UK Hospitality, added: “It is a welcome and helpful clarification that pubs and restaurants will be permitted to continue with off-licence sales of alcohol through delivery, as well as click and collect for pre-ordered sales.

“This was a lifeline to many businesses in the first lockdown and it is good to see common sense prevail this time too – avoiding waste and providing a valuable community service – although we can see no reason why a pub could not operate as a retail outlet for pre-packaged food and drink as many did last time.”

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A government spokesperson said: “We recognise that these are extremely challenging circumstances for pubs and the hospitality industry.

“Public health and safety remains our number one priority and that is why pubs and other hospitality venues cannot serve alcohol on site to takeaway to prevent people from gathering outside their premises.

“However, they can sell alcohol as part of delivery services, including through click and collect, over the telephone and by other remote methods of ordering for collection, provided customers do not congregate as groups once they have picked up their order.”