Children will be allowed to visit pubs on their own under new law

Children of any age would be allowed into pubs unaccompanied under reforms of the licensing laws expected to be announced in next week's Queen's Speech.

The Licensing Bill is expected to sweep away the complex system of restrictions, which bans children under 14 from pubs unless they are with an adult and the premises has a certificate. Children aged 14 to 17 are allowed into bar areas and those over 16 can drink beer with a meal if accompanied by an adult.

A Home Office spokesman said the proposals would safeguard children by giving landlords and local authorities discretion to impose their own restrictions in specific pubs. But the general aim was to produce a family-friendly café-style culture. "And you can't do that without having families in them," he said.

But Eric Appleby, director of the charity Alcohol Concern, said the move could encourage underage drinking and called for an overall age restriction to be maintained. Scrapping the restriction risked exposing children to bad behaviour. "It is the badly run pubs that are likely to be less vigilant about who they let in," he said.

The reforms are also expected to allow 24-hour opening in a move that Tony Blair said on Monday would help tackle antisocial behaviour by stopping crowds of drinkers leaving pubs at the same time.