Alcohol Help

In response to the publication today of the government’s review of the Licensing Act 2003 Alcohol Concern has circulated its own analysis of the licensing reforms. The report, Licensing 2003: A Lopsided Policy draws on national crime data, studies on how the Act has been implemented and recent surveys of licensing officials. The key findings of the report are that:

1) There has been no dramatic decline in the overall volume of crime and disorder or a visible change in drinking culture, as the Act intended, in fact some areas have seen alcohol-related crime increase.

2) People from more socially disadvantaged areas are less likely and, probably less able to make representations or seek reviews of licensing decisions, giving them less say in licensing decisions.

3) It can be months between a licensee lodging an appeal against a punitive decision and its hearing in Magistrates court, during which time the license holder is permitted to sell alcohol and alleged problems cannot be addressed.

Don Shenker, Director of Policy and Services said:

"Alcohol Concern does not disagree with the extension of licensing hours per se, but we do have outstanding reservations about the lack of community safeguards and serious misgivings about the extent to which public health is being ignored as a licensing concern. Our review finds a policy dangerously tilted towards the needs of the drinks industry, both in terms of the latitude it allows license holders during the review process, the lack of true community consultation on new licenses and the structural disadvantaging of individual residents within the complaints procedure. We’re proposing a number of key changes to safeguard the health and voice of local residents."

The paper makes a number of recommendations to improve the workings of the Act. They focus on citizen involvement, the aims of the Act and the licensing review and appeals process. Its main ones are that:

1) The Licensing Act 2003 should be amended to include a public health objective that informs decisions about licensing applications, reviews and cumulative impact zones. Licensing authorities should have access to a nationally standardized collection of A&E, ambulance, hospital admissions and treatment data. This would allow local authorities the power to refuse additional licenses or extensions if local alcohol-related health harms were rising or a matter of grave concern.

2) A nationally delivered leaflet to all residents should be developed on how to make representations and seek reviews to ensure that all sections of the community are empowered to tackle alcohol-related harms. This will raise awareness of residents’ rights to seek reviews and make representations. Particular work is required to facilitate the inclusion of less socially advantaged groups.

3) A maximum time should be stipulated between the lodging of an appeal at the magistrates and its hearing to prevent the process from taking a disproportionately long time, thus allowing an irresponsible license holder to continue trading without penalty.

Alcohol Concern