Written ministerial statement by Andy Burnham on the Evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003

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Title – Written ministerial statement by Andy Burnham on the Evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003
Source – DCMS website
Date – 4th March 2008

It’s not that often that I read ministerial statements and think that they present a relatively balanced view, but then to be fair I don’t read too many ministerial statements if I can help it…

But Mr Burnham here presents that facts and the facts don’t lie. There has not been any significant change to the level of crime and disorder as a result of the Licensing Act 2003. The dynamics may have changed slightly, but that was predictable. There are differences in different parts of the country, but that too is highly predictable as the industry varies from authority to authority and the methods of enforcement locally vary considerably.

There is as you would expect some potential headline grabbing and some tough talking in his statement, some of it hits the nail on the head. There is clearly a need for authorities to take a tough stance on irresponsible alcohol retailers and there are issues surrounding the promotion of alcohol, especially the heavy discounting that occurs in some sectors.

What does worry me a little and a subject I have covered in this blog before is the potential for new legislation, tougher penalties and the continued emphasis on closures and closure orders. My concern is simple, introducing harsher punishment and more legislation seems premature when the existing legislation has yet to be used effectively and in many cases local authorities are still not up to speed with their existing powers under the act and are still trying to catch up.

There is currently for example no stipulation that states that the ‘three strikes in three months’ for selling to an underage person will result in forfeiture of the licence. Under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 currently the sanction for ‘Persistently selling alcohol to someone under 18’ (three strikes) carries a maximum fine of £10,000 and / or a three month suspension of the licence; alternatively the police can impose a 48 hour suspension. It is likely that following any such action a review of the licence would be undertaken which could lead to further sanctions including forfeiture of the licence, but there is no mention in the act or the guidance of ‘automatic forfeiture’ as the secretary of state suggests.

It is exactly this kind of misinterpretation that concerns many premises and personal licence holders. Because many of the powers of the Licensing Act 2003 have never really been enforced, consistently monitored or effectively used, there still feels like there is a state of limbo within the industry. The continued threat of more legislation and more sanction worries many because they fear that there may suddenly be a political will to act with a strong hand against alcohol retailers with new more stringent legislation which will result in unreasonable restriction and sanction without ever really having seen the potential benefit of the already strong legislation available.

Mr Burnham does call for current legislation to be used against irresponsible retailers and we welcome this, I just call on him to consider a more proactive approach. As we have said many times before sanction against irresponsible retailers is welcome, but why not reward those many responsible retailers who will help the government to achieve its goals if they feel they are seen as part of the solution for once, rather than part of the problem; no matter how much effort they make.

At Beyond The Blue we provide the portfolio of BIIAB Licensed Retail Sector Courses including the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) and the Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR). We examine the latest legislation and how it affects alcohol retailers in order to help our clients meet not just their legislative needs, but understand the future direction of the industry and its regulation.

Please visit our website please visit at www.btbl.co.uk