Councils to have greater oversight of lap-dancing clubs

Local authorities will have stronger powers to control the opening and regulation of lap-dancing clubs, after the Policing and Crime Bill received Royal Assent this month.

The Act also seeks to deal with gang violence, alcohol-related crime and disorder, and prostitution. The number of times premises can sell alcohol to young people before incurring a penalty is lowered, and the penalties such infringements attract have been increased. The police will also be handed extra powers to tackle young people drinking in the street.

Other measures introduced by the Act include:

• a duty on police authorities to have regard to the views of the public on policing in their area in the exercise of all their functions;
• a requirement that HMIC assesses how well police authorities are reflecting the views of the public when they inspect  an authority’s functions;
• strengthened independence and status of the Senior Appointments Panel for Chief Officers; and
• the facilitation of more effective collaborative working of police forces and police authorities at regional and national level.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson welcomed the new legislation. “The public are at the heart of everything we do and they are our best weapon in fighting crime,” he said.