Licensing Act 2003 (Second Appointed Day) Order 2005

rose to move, That this House calls upon Her Majesty’s Government to withdraw the Licensing Act 2003 (Second Appointed Day) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2091) and to replace it with an order specifying the second appointed day as 30 June 2006 in order to allow more time to address public concerns about the effects of the proposed changes and for arrangements for any required changes to be completed in an orderly manner. [8th Report from the Merits Committee] The noble Viscount said: My Lords, in the 2001 general election the Labour Party sent a text message to its voters, saying:"““Vote Labour if you don’t give an XXX for drinking up times””." That message—a somewhat cheap electoral ploy—bounced the Government into introducing the Licensing Act, with the prospect of 24-hour drinking. It was an unwise promise—24-hour drinking is a concept that nobody asked for, nobody wants and has been condemned by all. The Government failed to listen to the serious concerns that were raised in this House during the passage of the Bill, and now an order is being made to bring in a licensing policy that is a total mess. Most people who go to bars, pubs and clubs behave well—the vast majority do so. Nobody wants 24-hour drinking, but many would like a reasonable extension to the hours that pubs, bars and restaurants can be open in their area. They should be allowed to open for longer if their customers want it, and if it does not create unacceptable consequences for local residents. Reasonable extensions, where appropriate, do not in themselves encourage bad behaviour. Indeed, there is evidence in Scotland that a more liberal policy has worked well. There are serious problems with binge drinking, mainly by those under 21. Binge drinking is a serious problem, as it leads to all kinds of other unacceptable behaviour, involving increased costs for the police and the health service. Sometimes it is not just drink that causes problems, but a mixture of drink and drugs. Alcohol sales in pubs have fallen in the past 15 years, and they have been declining by about 1 per cent a year, while alcohol sales in supermarkets have grown by about 5 per cent per annum over the same period. Supermarkets are cheaper. You can buy a tin of lager in a supermarket for 50p, which would cost £3 in a pub or bar. I am afraid that supermarket staff do not always check the age of their customers, and now that they are open 24 hours a day, they can apply for licences to sell alcohol for 24 hours a day, resulting in the problem becoming worse. I know something about the problems faced by the industry, local councils, residents and customers. In 1997 I founded a bars and restaurants business. We built the company up to 36 city bars, ranging from London to Aberdeen to Newcastle to Manchester, and even to Cardiff. On Saturday night we would have well over 30,000 customers eating and drinking in our restaurants and bars throughout the country. We were—I hope—responsible operators, partly because we did not let in those under 21, but mainly because we had a strict drinks and door policy. I do not have to declare an interest any more as we sold the business at the end of October. The result is that I have an insight into the industry of both good and bad operators. There are some bad operators who should not be allowed to trade. They could easily have been put out of business had the will and determination been there to do so. We did not apply for any new extensions to our licensing hours. The Government’s policy is such a mess that it is difficult to know where to start. The DCMS has issued 180-page guidance to the Local Government Association, which is supposed to prevent the explosion of binge drinking, but it is skewed against those who want to object. For example, the guidance states that you have to live in the vicinity to object. We have seen that nobody understands what that means. Some councils believe it is 100 yards; some are Euro and believe it to be 100 metres. What does the Minister think the definition should be? What did the guidance intend? Some objectors have been threatened by some of the larger pub operators that should they lose their objection they might have to pay costs. Can that really be the case? I am afraid that it is. Two Labour councillors in Newcastle are facing costs because of their appeal to the magistrates’ court. Will the Minister explain that? Logically, if that principle is extended to other areas of council policy, such as planning applications, all decisions by local councils might be subject to the same threat of costs. I cannot believe that that is what was intended. The guidance also prevents local councillors objecting to licences in their own wards. They are not even allowed to address their licensing sub-committee. We are told that local councils might be biased in favour of their local residents. But is that not why they are there? Have local residents not elected them to be precisely that—biased in favour of their local electors? What is the reason for that erosion of democracy? Will we now be told by the Government that MPs cannot represent their own constituents, or object to something in their own constituency? That is ridiculous. The problem with late-night drinking is not just what happens inside pubs, but the noise customers make when leaving. When people all leave pubs and clubs at the same time it can be noisy, but the guidance suggests that local authorities cannot stagger closing times. Indeed, it is clear the nuisance caused by noise outside the premises cannot be taken into account when local authorities apply for a closure order. It is very often the noise outside that local residents care about most. The Government should delay bringing the order. Their argument is that the Act gives the police new powers, but we all know that the police have plenty of powers to tackle existing problems. The problem is that they do not use them. Many, both inside and outside the industry, are constantly frustrated by the inability of the police to act, but it is difficult to understand why. I have often wondered whether the police allow a bad operator to keep trading so that they know where all the trouble-makers are in the evening in a particular area. In Birmingham responsible bar operators have had to close because of continued violence by the Yardie gangs. The police did little to help responsible operators, and now some months later, we have seen the results—an increase in crime and disorder in Birmingham. Environmental health officers already have the powers to close licensed premises that create a noise nuisance. The problem is that often many councils do not have arrangements for their officers to work at night. Some do. From experience, I know that Westminster council does, and their officers are extremely effective. The order to implement the Licensing Act was supposed to give local councils and their constituents more say. In fact it gives them less. It is a mess. What is more, it will cost local authorities more than they receive in licence fees to organise a new regime. The Government promised that it would be self-financing. Westminster council, for example, estimates that its net deficit on licensing will be £4.6 million in 2006–07. That represents a £38 council tax increase per Band D taxpayer. Surely that is not what was intended. I have to say as an aside that if the bizarre smoking laws, which have been trailed, are put into effect it will get worse. In many pubs about 10 per cent of their turnover is food. Now they will have to decide whether to continue providing food and allow no smoking, or allow smoking and provide no food. It is a mess; a farce. Let us have either no ban or a total ban. That is the only thing that makes sense both inside and outside the industry. The Department has also promised a code of practice on irresponsible drinks promotions. When will we see a draft? Who has been consulted? The Department is strangely silent on that matter. Licence applications are in disarray. We know that in Westminster alone 350 premises—about 10 per cent—have failed to apply for their new licences. That is replicated all over England. It is too late for them to apply to get a licence in time. As a result, come 24 November, those without a new licence will be trading illegally. What is the Government’s response? It is extraordinary. We are now told that more than 20,000 bars, pubs and restaurants will be allowed to operate illegally. We are told that the police will take action only when there are specific concerns about crime or disorder. In effect, local authorities are now being encouraged to turn a blind eye. How can the Government pass an Act and expect us to allow this order to go through when they are so cavalier about the law? The message is, ““We passed it but don’t worry you don’t have to obey it because we mucked up the introduction of this new policy””. Is that a sensible policy? Is it sensible law-making? Who can and cannot break the law? Who will decide? Will it be the local authorities, the police or will the departmental Minister get a list on his desk every Monday morning? Will licence applications be accepted retrospectively? We await the Minister’s answer. The policy is a farce; a total mess. The order should be postponed. The Government should accept my Motion, which would allow for all licences to be considered, so there would be no law-breaking. The police and local authorities have all the power they need, and the order does not change that. A survey published today by the Evening Standard found that more than 600 premises—160 pubs, 75 clubs, 110 hotels and 200 supermarkets—have now been given approval to serve alcohol 24 hours a day. That totally disproves and refutes the Government’s earlier claim that there would be only a handful of licences. What is more, petrol stations have jumped on the bandwagon and are applying to sell alcohol 24 hours a day. The delay would allow the flawed guidance to be rewritten—guidance, that even the Minister responsible in another place, has already agreed to review. I commend my order and I beg to move. Moved, That this House calls upon Her Majesty’s Government to withdraw the Licensing Act 2003 (Second Appointed Day) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2091) and to replace it with an order specifying the second appointed day as 30 June 2006 in order to allow more time to address public concerns about the effects of the proposed changes and for arrangements for any required changes to be completed in an orderly manner.—(Viscount Astor.)