Licensing Act one year on - "early days but encouraging signs" - Woodward

There are encouraging signs that new licensing laws are having a positive impact in England and Wales, Licensing Minister Shaun Woodward said today on the eve of the first anniversary of their introduction.

But he stressed that it is too early to reach firm conclusions and that the Government will continue to monitor their effect over the coming months and years.

Mr Woodward commented as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published estimates based on a survey of licensing authorities in England and Wales. While only indicative, the survey suggests:

* There are more than 200,000 premises licences and certificates in place. * Around 3,000 of these are 24 hour licences - less than two per cent of the total. * There is no evidence of a move to a new standard closing time - approximately one fifth of pubs, bars and clubs close by 11pm at the latest, roughly a half by midnight and around four fifths by 1am at the latest. * There have been around 600 completed licensing reviews, and approximately 100 licences have been revoked as a result.

Mr Woodward said:

"It's early days, but there are encouraging signs that the new laws are working.

"Residents and others are triggering reviews of licences. The police are using the tougher closure powers. And responsible adults are enjoying greater choice and freedom in how they spend their leisure time.

"But it will take some time before we can draw a truly conclusive picture. In the meantime we'll continue to monitor the act's impact.

"One notable point from our new survey is that it indicates that there hasn't been the explosion in 24 hour venues that some predicted. In fact, as we predicted, it appears that less than two per cent of licensed venues have 24 hour licences. And in the case of pubs, bars and clubs, we believe that those that have the licences are only using them for special occasions.

"There also appears to be a genuine spread of closing times - bringing an end to the old madness of everyone being thrown out onto the street at the same time, contributing to crime and disorder."

Other points from the survey include:

* Broken down by premise type, the split of 24 hour licences in force is approximately: - 20 per cent pubs, bars and clubs. - 25 per cent large supermarkets. - 20 per cent convenience stores. - 35 per cent others, including hotels.

* Of completed reviews of licences, around three-quarters have resulted in changes to licence conditions or restrictions on trading (for example, changes to opening hours, reductions in capacity, or changes to door policy).

Evidence suggests there have been only modest changes to closing times from Sunday to Thursday.

Under the old regime, about 80 per cent of pubs, public bars and night-clubs had licences until 11pm. Of the remainder about 15 per cent (mostly nightclubs) opened until 2am. Only a small percentage which were located in London were licensed until 3am.

The Licensing Act 2003 increased penalties for allowing disorderly conduct or sales of alcohol to people who are drunk, for breach of licence conditions, and selling alcohol to children. It also expanded police powers to close down disorderly and noisy licensed premises.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:

"The Licensing Act 2003 provides a robust framework for regulating individual licensed premises. The Violent Crime Reduction Act will empower local authorities to designate alcohol disorder zones, as a last resort, in areas where alcohol related crime and disorder is a problem. In these areas, licensed premises will contribute to enforcement costs.

"I recognise that most people drink sensibly, but we want to crack down on the minority who spoil the fun for the rest of us. The Government is committed to tackling underage sales of alcohol through test purchasing, which can result in licence review for retailers if they persistently sell alcohol to minors. Recently we announced that 42 premises will be subject to a licence review by their local authority, which could result in their licence conditions being changed."

Commander Chris Allison, the Association of Chief Police Officers lead on licensing said:

"ACPO fully supported the majority of the provisions of the new Licensing Act and there is evidence that a number of the new powers and procedures that we have, such as the ability to review licences, are being used to good effect in many places across the country.

"However, it is far too early to assess the true impact of the act given that the night time economy is complex and there a large number of variables at play, including the investment of £5 million by the Home Office in extra enforcement activity during two alcohol misuse enforcement campaigns.

"To have any validity, a true assessment will have to consider these variables and examine data collected over a far longer period. The police service will continue to work closely with local authorities and the trade to deal with the negative effects of a culture of excessive drinking that still exists in our society."

Notes to editors:

1. The Licensing Act 2003 came into effect on 24 November 2005. Its aims are the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, ensuring public safety and protection of children from harm.

New powers it introduced include:

a. empowering the police, residents and others to seek a review of licences, and providing licensing committees with the opportunity to impose an extended range of measures which impact on businesses and their profits including limiting opening hours; b. increased fines, as well as the potential suspension for up to six months or forfeiture of personal licences, following conviction for offences of allowing disorderly conduct or sales of alcohol to people who are drunk; c. increased penalties for breach of licence conditions - a person faces a maximum fine of £20,000 or imprisonment for up to six months or both; d. increased penalties for selling alcohol to children (up to £5000) and make it possible for courts to suspend or forfeit personal licences at first offence and not only on second conviction as previously; e. Trading Standards Officers can conduct test purchases at licensed premises; and f. expanded police powers to close down disorderly and noisy licensed premises, including all entertainment premises, night cafes and night take aways.

Other powers available to the police include:

g. prohibiting anti-social drinking in areas where there has been a history of alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour through the creation of a designated public places order; h. Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 enables the police, working with local authorities, to target action in problem areas and disperse groups; and i. Anti social behaviour orders and acceptable behaviour contracts can be used to target particular trouble makers.

The Violent Crime Reduction Act, when fully implemented, will: j. introduce a new civil order, drinking banning orders, which will impose restrictions on those who commit offences under the influence of alcohol for up to two years, including banning them from licensed premises; k. introduce alcohol disorder zones to give local authorities and police powers to designate areas blighted by serious alcohol-related crime and disorder, as a last resort, to ensure those licensees within the zone contribute to cost of the disorder; l. create a new offence to give police and trading standards powers to close a licensed premise persistently selling alcohol to youths for up to 48 hours; and m. create a new power to allow police to ban those who represent a risk to alcohol-related crime or disorder arising or taking place from a particular locality for up to 48 hours.

More details of the Licensing Act 2003 can be accessed at http://www.culture.gov.uk/about_us/tourismleisure/licensing_act.htm

2. The findings in the survey published today are broad estimates of the current position. A short survey was sent to all licensing authorities in England & Wales, with a 28 per cent response rate achieved. Results were collated and extrapolated to provide very basic estimates at a national level. A comprehensive data collection exercise is to be carried out by the DCMS in 2007.

Licensing authorities were asked to record the latest terminal hour of pubs, bars and nightclubs - most likely to fall on a weekend. Terminal hours may be earlier during the week.

Full findings of the survey can be accessed at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Alcohol_entertainment/facts_figures.htm

3. Examples of the Licensing Act 2003 being used to tackle problem premises include:

In Blackpool town centre, many take aways with licences to operate in the early hours have had conditions attached which require them to have door supervisors and, in some cases, to have CCTV fitted. This would not have been possible previously because take aways outside London did not need a licence. The introduction of door supervisors at these premises is having a beneficial effect on the town centre.

In Nottingham the local authority has carried out four reviews. As the result of local police test purchasing operations around underage sales, in two cases the premises licences were suspended for a number of weeks and a tougher range of conditions imposed before the premises could open again. In the other two cases, the licences were revoked as a result of bad management and failure to comply with licence conditions.

A restaurant in Newham had its licence revoked on March 15 2006. This followed an application by the Metropolitan Police for a review of the restaurant, a constant source of crime, disorder, mismanagement and persistent breaches of licensing laws, such as serving alcohol beyond its midnight licensing hours (as late as 6.30am). The licence holder appealed the decision to the magistrates court, which dismissed the appeal.

In Cardiff, the police applied for revocation of the licence of a large bar with a history of problems, including violence inside and outside the premises and door staff assaulting customers. The prospect of revocation of the licence under the new act encouraged the designated premises supervisor and premises licence holder to work with the police to improve the premises. Measures included new seating, reduced capacity, extra CCTV, changes to the queuing system, an over-21 admission policy, a change in music policy, the use of plastic vessels from 7pm and changes to management and door staff. As a result, the premises were turned around. Comparison figures provided by the South Wales Police showed that:

During the period October 2004 to March 2005 there were 339 crimes recorded in the street where the premises are located, of which 112 crimes were attributed to the premises themselves. However during the period October 2005 to March 2006 there were 227 crimes recorded in the street where the premises are located of which only 14 were attributed to the premises concerned. This shows a 30 per cent reduction in crimes in the street where the premises is located with an 87.5 per cent reduction in respect of the premises concerned.

4. A recent trading standards and police test purchasing operation has led to more than 40 off-licences, shops and pubs facing reviews of their licences to sell alcohol under powers in the Licensing Act 2003. The operation was carried out over three weeks in 27 areas across England and Wales. It targeted premises that had previously failed test purchases or had been identified through local intelligence. More details can be accessed at: http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/Underage-Alcohol-Sales

5. The Licensing Act is only one component of the Government's drive to tackle alcohol-related harm. This work is led through the Government's alcohol harm reduction strategy for England, which was published on 15 March 2004. The strategy is a cross-cutting initiative to tackle all aspects of alcohol-related harm in England and was developed by the Prime Minister's strategy unit. The Department of Health and the Home Office are jointly responsible for implementing the strategy.

6. While it is too early to draw any firm conclusions about the impact on crime, recent figures have showed encouraging signs, including:

* British Crime Survey interviews in the 12 months to June 2006 showed levels of violent crime to be stable.

* Overall, the level of violence against the person recorded by the police showed no change in April to June 2006, compared with the same period in the previous year.

* Within this category, more serious violence against the person recorded by the police from April to June 2006 fell by 13 per cent compared with the same period in 2005.

Latest police recorded crime and British Crime Survey figures can be accessed at http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/crime-statistics-2006

Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6200 Internet: http://www.culture.gov.uk

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