Agenda item

REVIEW OF THE LICENSING ACT STATEMENT OF LICENSING POLICY AND INTRODUCTION OF THE LATE NIGHT LEVY

The panel will receive a briefing paper on progress with the review of the Licensing Act Statement of Licensing Policy and Introduction of the Late Night Levy.

 

The full consultation document can be viewed via the following link:

 

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/consulation_licensing_policy_review.pdf

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Andy Netherton, Manager Health, Safety and Licensing, who was in attendance to inform members on progress with the consultation being undertaken in respect of a review of the Licensing Act Statement of Licensing Policy and introduction of the Late Night Levy.  Members were advised –

 

·         although the current Licensing Policy had been adopted in 2011 and the requirement was for it to be reviewed every five years, the Government had, over the last 18 months, introduced a series of additional controls which amended the Licensing Act and it was, therefore, appropriate to review the policy in light of these legislative changes;

·         the new controls provided Councils with additional opportunities to exercise greater local discretion on licensing matters and control the negative aspects of the consumption of alcohol in the evening and night time economy (ENTE);

·         the consultation had been broken down into three areas:

o   Late Night Levy

o   Changes to the Cumulative Impact Policy

o   Amendments to the Current Policy

·         that the main changes to the current policy were inclusion of consideration of:

o   alternatives to the use of glass

o   increasing maximum occupancy

o   provision of free tap water

o   greater controls on the number of off-licences and how they trade

o   greater controls on opening hours

o   inclusion of off-licences and take-aways within the Cumulative Impact Policy

·         the consultation would close on 5 October 2013.

 

In response to questions raised, members were advised that –

 

(a)

 

the Late Night Levy would only impact upon businesses with alcohol sales taking place after midnight;

 

(b)

 

members of a Business Improvement District (BID) would be exempt from a Late Night Levy, however, they would be required to submit a work plan to demonstrate how they would address issues of crime and disorder in the ENTE;

 

(c)

 

supermarkets were classed as off-licences and therefore were covered by the same controls;

 

(d)

 

the ENTE was a large employer and as such a major contributor to the City’s economy.  Consideration was therefore being given to employment of an Evening and Night Time Economy Manager to help promote the ENTE and grow this economy further;

 

(e)

 

the amount of levy required from each business was set and controlled nationally.  It was calculated based on a sliding scale depending upon what business rates they paid, e.g. £299 Band A, £768 Band B, £1,493 Band E etc.;

 

(f)

 

monies received from the levy would go into a centralised ringfenced pot administered by the Plymouth Community Safety Partnership for use in schemes that contribute to making the ENTE a safer environment such as extra CCTV, policing, street marshalls, street lighting improvements etc.;

 

(g)

 

a response to the consultation had not yet been received from the Police, however, the officer was aware it had been drafted and was confident it would be received before the closing date on 5 October;

 

(h)

 

to date, the public responses received could be split as follows –

 

·         those residents living outside of the ENTE and not directly affected had general concerns about how much alcohol harm was costing;

·         those residents living within the ENTE had two concerns:

o    lateness of disturbance/crime and disorder;

o    street drinkers.

 

(i)

 

following closure of the consultation, a report would be submitted to Cabinet.

 

The Chair thanked the officer for the update and his attendance.

Supporting documents: