Peers call for local authority licensing committees to be scrapped

Local authority licensing committees should be abolished and their responsibilities transferred to planning committees, a House of Lords committee set up to scrutinise the Licensing Act 2003 has urged.

In response the Local Government Association described the recommendation as "unnecessary and ill-advised".

In its report the House of Lords Select Committee on the Licensing Act 2003 concluded that:

• The Government had “made a substantial error” in placing the responsibility for licensing with local authority licensing committees.
• The evidence received against these committees was “damning” and the committee was “extremely concerned by what it heard”. 
• Planning committees were much more effective, reliable and well-equipped to make licensing decisions.
• Coordination between the licensing and planning systems should begin immediately in all local authorities.
• Fees for licensing should be set locally, not nationally.

The select committee noted that the legality of minimum unit pricing was still under consideration by the Supreme Court.

But the peers added that if it was found to be lawful and introduced in Scotland, and found to be effective in cutting down excessive drinking, then England and Wales should follow Scotland’s lead.

The committee also recommended following Scotland’s example in helping disabled people to access licensed premises by ensuring that a disabled access statement is provided with a premises licensing application.

The report meanwhile also called for the repeal of the late night levy unless amendments already made proved effective.

The peers said they had heard “very convincing evidence” suggesting that the levy did not pay for the cost of policing as intended. They also said they had come to the conclusion that in its current form the levy was “fundamentally wrong, in principle and practice”.

Early Morning Restriction Orders, which no local authority has yet introduced, should also be repealed.

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, chairman of the select committee, said: “The Act is fundamentally flawed and needs a major overhaul. It was a mistake and a missed opportunity to set up new licensing committees when the planning system was already available to regulate the use of land for many different purposes. The planning system is well suited to dealing with licensing applications and appeals, and the interests of residents are always taken into account.

“The committee was shocked by some of the evidence it received on hearings before licensing committees. Their decisions have been described as 'something of a lottery', 'lacking formality', and 'indifferent', with some 'scandalous misuses of the powers of elected local councillors'."

Cllr Chris Pillai, licensing spokesperson for the LGA, said: “The recommendation to scrap council licensing committees is unnecessary and ill-advised and does not take into account the fact that those most involved in working with the Act do not want to see further major upheaval of the system.

“Figures from 2016 show that of the more than 21,000 licence applications made to council licensing committees, less than 1% were challenged. This reflects the fairness and sound basis licensing committees are using to make their decisions."

He added: “It will always be possible in any system to pull out examples where things haven't worked as well as they should have, and we agree that there is scope for the planning and licensing frameworks to link together more closely. However, putting planning committees in charge of licensing decisions will not tackle current flaws in the Licensing Act, and completely fails to take account of the pressures the planning system is also under."

Cllr Pillai said it was "disappointing" that the committee had not recommended that the Act should be amended to include a public health objective. "Nearly 90% of Directors of Public Health support such an inclusion, which would help councils take health issues into account in licensing decisions."

He also said the LGA disagreed with the suggestion that the Late Night Levy should be scrapped "as it has helped to address the shortfall in income that otherwise prevents councils from putting innovative ideas into practice".

Cllr Pillai called for more time to be given to consider the effectiveness of late night levies applied to premises in more localised 'hotspots', rather than across whole local authority areas.

The LGA has, however, backed the proposal for locally-set licensing fees, claiming that nationally-set licensing fees had forced councils to subsidise this work by £10.3m a year.

“With many councils already making use of more scope to use licensing policy to shape local areas, no legislative change is needed," Cllr Pillai said. "Licensing and planning are fundamentally different functions which should remain separate.”

Commenting on the report, Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association warned that bad practice could persist if licensing were transferred to planning committees.

She said: “Local authorities need clearer guidance and councillors need better training, so that they can consider key licensing decisions in the fairest and most effective way possible. I very much welcome the call for greater co-ordination within local authorities, and for training to be mandatory.”

Simmonds did however welcome the committee’s recommendation in relation to late night levies, and also its opposition to making public health a licensing objective.

“The licensing process wasn't designed for such a broad purpose, and should instead focus on individual venues,” she argued.

“For similar reasons, the rejection of Group Review Intervention Powers is also welcome, as we don't believe blanket conditions on all premises in an area are appropriate - the focus should remain in tackling problems at specific premises.”

But the BBPA’s chief executive expressed concern at licensing fees being set locally, “as there would be a temptation for local councils to ‘gold plate’ their own licencing regimes at the expense of small local businesses”. She called for a national cap on fees, and a level playing field for on-trade and off-trade retailers.