Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

As the Minister pointed out, we debated this issue in the Public Bill Committee on the basis of an Opposition amendment. I am pleased, because he has obviously listened carefully to the arguments that we made. The Opposition were clearly championing the localism agenda, which I know is close to the heart of the coalition Government, so I am pleased that they have decided, at this late stage, to bring forward an amendment of their own on the issue. We have heard from local government that since 2005, when the regulations of the Licensing Act 2003 were implemented, the licensing system has cost council tax payers more than £100 million more than was anticipated because of the centrally set fee structure. As the Minister said, that structure does not allowing licensing authorities to set cost-neutral local charges. As the Minister pointed out, the Government had indicated that they were considering giving licensing authorities the power to set licensing fees based on full cost recovery. I am sure that there has been considerable interdepartmental wrangling on this issue, and that that is why the new clause has been brought forward rather late in the day on Report. A number of trade organisations, the Local Government Association and others were concerned to see the original clause in the Bill, so no doubt they will be pleased to see this new clause. However, I wish to raise a number issues with the Minister. In the current economic climate, with local authority budgets being squeezed, it needs to be clear to local authorities what funding will be available to them and what charges they will be able to set. It would be helpful if the Minister said when he believes the new fees structure will be implemented so that local authorities can begin to amend their budgets accordingly. We also discussed at length in Committee the new fees framework for the late-night levy. It is the view of a number of organisations that a new fees structure is far preferable to the bureaucratic and complicated late-night levy scheme that is to be introduced by the Government. Only a minority of authorities would be able to utilise the late-night levy, and it clearly does not address any of the pre-midnight alcohol-related issues that we talked about at length in Committee. The LGA feels that including the new fees framework in the Bill is the quickest and simplest way to remedy the problem, rather than using the late-night levy solution. Businesses have raised concerns about the new scheme. As I have set out, there is concern about the current economic climate. A number of small businesses are concerned that they may have to pay considerably more for licence applications and in fees to their local authority. It was clear in the amendment that we tabled in Committee, just as it is in the new clause, that fee levels would be restricted. In Committee, I referred to what has happened under the Gambling Act 2005, which gives a discretion to set fee levels within nationally set bands. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport undertook a three-stage high-level review of the premises licence fees set by licensing authorities in 2007-08 under that scheme. The overall conclusions of the review were that there was no justifiable concern about the level of the fee maximums set by DCMS from either an industry or licensing authority perspective, and that the introduction of the new system appeared to be working well and had produced a good spread of premises licence fees among licensing authorities, with no obvious systematic setting of fees at the maximum level. Clearly, the matter has to be kept under review. Will the Minister carry out a similar review after a short period to check what is happening up and down the country? In Business, Innovation and Skills questions earlier today, the Secretary of State reiterated the one in, one out policy for regulation. Under the Bill, a number of new burdens are being placed on business, such as the vicinity test, which will have an impact on the costs of the applications process for businesses. We know from the Home Office impact assessment that the annual cost of reform to the industry will be between £21.5 million and £52.1 million, with the best estimate being £36.8 million. The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers estimates that the average cost per pub will be from £1,842 to £5,280, but could double with reform of the annual fees. I am interested to know whether the Minister feels that the Bill will take any regulatory burden away from businesses in relation to fees. Proposed subsection (6)(a) of the new clause sets out that there will be an opportunity for local authorities to change the fees from time to time. Can the Minister give any indication of what he thinks the time scale for such changes will be? For instance, does he think that fees would be set for a minimum of three years, or longer? Businesses have to plan their budgets and need to be clear about any additional costs that they will have to meet. Will businesses in the late-night economy that already contribute time and money to schemes such as Best Bar None and community alcohol partnerships be credited with a reduction in the licence fee? Is there any opportunity for local authorities to provide such credit? Although the Bill sets out a sufficiently flexible and clear framework, the amendment that the Opposition tabled in Committee would have provided licensing authorities with an opportunity to exercise discretion to reduce or waive fees for individual premises or events for organisations such as charities or voluntary sector groups, or for those benefiting from small business rate relief. Can the Minister confirm whether that discretion will be available to local authorities under the new clause? We need to see the details of how the fees will operate, and we look forward to seeing the draft regulations as soon as possible. The Elton report on fees, which the Minister mentioned, made it very clear that local authorities could benefit from sharing best practice about how licence fee applications were dealt with. It made recommendations about using staff involved in related activities in local government and using good communication and mediation to avoid expensive appeals. What thought has he given to those specific recommendations, which could enable local authorities up and down the land to share best practice? Will the Minister be clear about what local authorities will be allowed to charge for under the new clause? They clearly incur costs in dealing with licence applications, but what about the costs of the work that responsible authorities do in examining applications? I refer in particular to the involvement of the police, but the Minister will know that under clause 105, primary care trusts are also to become responsible authorities. Could any costs of their work in providing information to a licensing committee be charged for? Will the Minister also confirm whether the local authority will be able to include the costs of the work of trading standards under its enforcement powers in deciding on the level of fees? Costings will need to be provided in a clear and transparent way, so that businesses understand exactly what they are paying for. I hope that that will be set out clearly in the guidance that the Minister referred to. Finally, when does he think the new fees regime will come in?