The (London) Times, 13 March 2000, previewed a Government white paper proposing drastic changes in legislation for English pubs. Changes include opportunity for pubs to be open 24 hours a day (in practice, probably staggered closing hours), licensing by local authorities and not by magistrates, and personal licenses for pub landlords rather than licenses for the premises. The increased hours for pubs is likely to be effective by summer 2001.