A review of 24-hour drinking laws in England and Wales is expected to say that they have been a success.
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Doctor sought over illegal scans ... review will conclude the laws should stay - but with a crackdown on alcohol sales to the under-18s.
Ministers will say there has been less crime and more freedom for responsible drinkers - although they will admit "some areas of concern" remain.
Critics say the policy has done nothing to prevent binge drinking and has put more pressure on police and councils.
Fines increase
Gordon Brown announced a review of the Licensing Act shortly after becoming prime minister in June last year.
The law, which came into force in 2005, allows pubs and clubs to apply for later - or even 24-hour - licences to serve alcohol.
The review is expected to give the policy a mark of seven out of 10, with "excellent" results in most areas.
Ministers will point to the latest figures, which suggest a fall of 1% in overall crime and of 10% in violent crime committed since licensing laws changed.
A tougher system of red and yellow cards will be introduced for landlords and shop keepers breaching licensing laws. It would firstly impose conditions and ultimately revoke licences.
The prime minister has already said it would include a "two strikes and you're out" rule for off-licences caught selling alcohol to people under 18.
And fines for people caught drinking in public places where it is banned will be increased from Ј500 to Ј2,500.
'Enforce the law'
But Sir Simon Milton, chairman of the Local Government Association which represents local authorities, said the idea that late-night licences would end binge drinking had totally failed.
He said policing resources were being stretched further into the night because of people who had been drinking.
Chairman of the Wetherspoon pub chain, Tim Martin, told BBC2's Newsnight that 24-hour licensing had not helped counter binge drinking.
"People need to be re-educated about their drinking habits. It's worked really well with drink driving, but you have to persuade people it's a bad idea to get paralytic," he said.
Labour MP Martin Salter, a member of the Commons home affairs committee, blamed binge drinking on those who made alcohol too easily available to young people.
"The problem is the availability of cheap alcohol from supermarkets and the fact that, actually, most teenagers are getting alcohol either from family members or from parents or from irresponsible shopkeepers," he said.
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said he believed the government was "behaving extraordinarily by saying 24-hour drinking is here to stay".
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "The basic problem is not that we need new powers and penalties - it's that we need to enforce the law that we've already got".
Government figures published last November suggested 500 pubs and clubs had been granted 24-hour licences since the laws were introduced.
Ministers said the "vast majority" of 24-hour licences went to hotels, which serve only to their guests.
(BBC)
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