The introduction of 24-hour drinking in late 2005 was supposed to lead to the relaxed café culture of Mediterranean Europe, as well as reducing binge drinking and related crime and disorder.

More than two years later there is little sign of people sipping wine under the stars on balmy evenings. There is, however, much of the same rowdy after-hours behaviour with youths vomiting at street corners. The only difference is that it happens at 1am or 2am rather than 11pm.

The controversial laws were both delayed and amended in the summer of 2005 as local authorities struggled with their new responsibility to license more than 190,000 pubs, restaurants and clubs and extend the hours in two thirds of them.

The police and David Blunkett, by then the former Home Secretary, both voiced concerns that the new rules would lead to greater crime and the Tories and Liberal Democrats also opposed the policy. Mr Blunkett was overruled by Tony Blair, Prime Minister at the time, and Tessa Jowell, who assumed responsibility for the policy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Today’s LGA survey comes after the Home Office’s own report earlier this year that suggested that alcohol-related crimes between 3am and 6pm had increased by more than 20 per cent and that hospitals had reported heavier workloads at A&E departments as youths not only continued to binge drink but also fall over, have fights or need their stomachs pumped.

The LGA survey suggests that a third of primary care trusts have experienced more alcohol-related incidents since extended drinking hours were introduced.

The Government paraded its own statistics yesterday and it is too early to tell whether the more liberalised drinking laws are the main factor behind rising crime figures.

However, Sir Simon Milton raises another, equally relevant point. More than £100 million of council taxpayers’ money has already been sunk into the laws – both in administering the scheme and monitoring it and, according to the LGA, the Government has failed to pay a penny back. In addition health trusts are paying for ambulance services and A&E treatment and nearly half of police authorities claim that the laws have led to either no change in alcohol-related disorder or an increase.

The Government should at least pay hospitals and councils back for the mess it has so far created.

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