Local Authorities (Alcohol Disorder Zones) Regulations 2008

rose to move, as an amendment to the above Motion, at end to insert ““but this House calls on Her Majesty’s Government to withdraw the regulations and to re-lay them having taken account of the opinion of the Select Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments that ‘the system will be unduly bureaucratic and without a clear idea of how ADZs will fit in with the other items in the local authorities’ toolkit for combating alcohol-fuelled disorder.’”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, this House, in its wisdom, established a Merits Committee to look at the merits of statutory instruments. The Minister will be aware of what the Merits Committee has said in the case of these regulations. It has found them wanting, even given that they have been laid previously and withdrawn, and that this is at least the second time that they have been laid. Does the Minister not think that, when the Merits Committee, with all the legal experience of the noble and learned Lords who sit on it—not least the experience of the chairman, the noble Lord, Lord Filkin, who has long experience, as I know the Minister has, of local government—says that the regulations are unduly bureaucratic, and possibly therefore unworkable, that the Government should withdraw the regulations and think again? It does the Government no good to bring in regulations that bring them into disrepute in this way. Although I am going to address the substance of the regulations now, it is the comments of the Merits Committee that bear particular scrutiny. What is the point of your Lordships’ House having a Merits Committee? It has come up with the strong comment that the ADZ system will be unduly bureaucratic and be, "““without a clear idea of how it fits with the other items in local authorities’ toolkit for combating alcohol- fuelled disorder””." In other words, it is worse than useless. I do not know what the Merits Committee could say more strongly to make the Government rethink the regulations, which they have got wrong. I urge the Minister to exercise his ministerial discretion. I realise that civil servants have been asked to draw up the regulations and that it was in the Labour Party’s manifesto that this would be done. Having made an effort to draw them up, they still have not come up with the goods. The Minister needs to bear that in mind and have another go at them. That is what I am asking him to consider this evening. Now I will address the substance of these regulations. We on these Benches would not dispute that there is a problem with alcohol-related disorder in town and city centres. Indeed, the British Crime Survey shows that alcohol was involved in 46 per cent of violent crime incidents. The Home Office’s own figures show increases in violent crime between 3 am and 6 am since the introduction of the Licensing Act. Hospital A&E admissions have doubled since 1997 and A&E admissions of those aged under 18 for alcohol-related conditions have increased by more than 2,000 in the past 10 years. I will not go on quoting figures; there are enough there to show that there is a significant problem. We are certainly not disputing that. We also contend that local authorities and businesses have taken considerable steps forward. There are 62 business improvement districts around the country. That is very important. That is the community coming together. Those are businesses recognising their responsibilities to the social life of their area, and working with local authorities to improve it. I wonder how much discussion the Government had with them before drawing up these regulations. Then there are several local schemes, of which I am sure the Minister is aware, ranging from the Community Alcohol Partnership in St Neotts, Cambridgeshire, to one that I am aware of in Somerset, called Operation Joined-up. I discussed alcohol-related incidents with Councillor Mochnacz, the county councillor concerned with community safety issues. The one thing that he would have liked the Government to do is bring in a power to enable local authorities to require the use of shatterproof glass if it was thought necessary. That was echoed by the police, who were also at my meeting with Councillor Mochnacz. They said that the single thing that would reduce the bad effects of alcohol would be the introduction of either safety glass or a complete alternative to glass. That was a very positive suggestion, on which the Minister could act. I should be grateful for his comments on that. The ADZs have attracted criticism across the board, from industry, the police, the LGA, LACORS and, not least, as I mentioned, the Merits Committee itself. Why? Because if they are bureaucratic, it is unlikely that anyone will use them. As the Minister said, they are a tool of last resort, but if they are this bureaucratic, is it likely that local authorities will make such a rod for their own backs, and one that will take so much time? To give an example of where they are bureaucratic, the Minister quoted the charging mechanism. The charging mechanism assesses premises by rateable value and hours of opening during the service period. The Minister said that rateable value was a proxy for capacity. That is impossible to measure. A big pub, perhaps with bedrooms and serving suppers, would have a high rateable value as big premises, but the amount of alcohol consumed and the amount of disorder to come from that pub might be minimal, compared to a smaller, rather ““shacky”” type of nightclub, selling alcohol to kids already loaded up with vodka before they go in. It might be vodka purchased 20 miles away. I do not believe that this charging mechanism will be able to withstand all the appeals that will be brought as soon as the first ADZ is established. The Minister also made a comment about supermarkets. Noble Lords will understand that a supermarket will have a defence. Somebody will go in for 12 cans of Special Brew and one bottle of vodka, but, thinking about it, they also buy a pint of milk and a newspaper. They can claim, quite rightly, that they were going to have a coffee before they went out drinking, so it was the pint of milk that drew them into the supermarket. The supermarket can carry out a few surveys like that and quickly say that it should be exempt. There are all sorts of problems with the charging mechanism, as highlighted by everybody else who has been through these regulations. Then there is all the police time that will be taken up by this, when the community would rather that police officers were out on the beat, talking to youngsters and discouraging violent behaviour in the first place in that way, which we know a police presence can do. We do not feel that the charging system reflects the whole idea behind the zones. The Minister should also explain how they will be a proper differentiation between responsible and irresponsible premises, because if it is based on rateable value, it looks as if the regulations treat all premises in the same way. I know from talking to owners of wine bars, for example, that some are incredibly responsible and go to enormous lengths to ensure that their staff are trained not to serve alcohol to customers whom they feel are over the limit. In town centres where there is joined-up working, they have systems whereby they warn one another about groups of people going around who should be refused that evening because they are, it is felt, over the limit. The other option that the Government had was to ensure better enforcement of existing laws. There is an explanation of how ADZs will fit alongside other measures, but I bring the Minister back to the fact that the Merits Committee, having examined it, felt that it was not clear how they would fit with the other items in the local authorities’ toolkit. I remind the Minister that the police already have sufficient powers covering all sorts of issues concerning alcohol and violence. They can even confiscate alcohol under a designated public places order, with a variety of punishments depending on the nature of the disorder: fines, temporary closure or review of the premises licence. As the Minister will know, responsibility comes back to the local authority as the licensing authority. This is my last point: the licensing authority—the local authority in its guise as a licensing authority—must take numerous issues into account. It does so responsibly with a lot of local input, but I believe that, under the regulations and the Licensing Act guidance, it is illegal for local authorities to promote a voluntary code or scheme against the practices that encourage binge drinking. Only the industry can commence such a scheme. I would like the Minister to say whether I am correct about that, as it seems surprising. Local authorities would like to have that power, which would tie in with their licensing authority powers. We believe that, although the effort being made through ADZs to control violence that comes from heavy drinking and alcohol-related abuse in town centres is worthy, the regulations fail, for all the reasons that I have given. I urge the Minister to withdraw the regulations and let his department have another go at them. I beg to move. Moved, as an amendment to the above Motion, at end to insert ““but this House calls on Her Majesty’s Government to withdraw the regulations and to re-lay them having taken account of the opinion of the Select Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments that ‘the system will be unduly bureaucratic and without a clear idea of how ADZs will fit in with the other items in the local authorities’ toolkit for combating alcohol-fuelled disorder.’”” (HL Paper 100).—(Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer.)