Royal Borough leader lukewarm about licensing act

11 July 2003

Royal Borough Council Leader, Councillor Merrick Cockell, gave a cool welcome to the new powers introduced in this week's Government's Licensing Act, and urged the Government to look again at the way in which licensing fees are set.

Speaking at the Local Government Association's (LGA) Annual Conference in Harrogate, Councillor Cockell spelled out the missed opportunity of the legislation, pointing to extremely low annual fees (from £50 to £150 per year administration and enforcement fee) that will cover the costs of funding a proper local authority enforcement and inspection regime.

Mirroring the views of many in local government, Councillor Cockell acknowledged there were some positive aspects of the new powers, including more flexible opening hours and tough measures to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. However, Councillor Cockell added, "Local authorities should be trusted to allow late hours where they do no harm and to control hours where they will. Sadly, under the bill that has emerged it is far from clear whether they will be able to do that."

Under pressure, the Government has now committed to an independent review of fee levels. The Royal Borough fully supports this move and will continue to press for local councils to be given the responsibility to set their own licensing fees, to ensure the full costs of licensing can be met.

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