ACS

The removal of discretionary local conditions for alcohol retailers was confirmed today, as the Policing and Crime Bill completed its final stages in Parliament.

If upheld, the local conditions would have been applied by licensing authorities to a group of local premises. ACS raised serious concern that this approach was fundamentally against the 2003 Licensing Act of judging premises on a case by case basis. In place of the discretionary conditions is an amendment which allows licensing authorities to be an interested party in a licensing application or review. However, they will only be permitted to make interventions on a premises by premises basis.

The Bill primarily includes nine mandatory conditions which apply to all alcohol licenses, although the details of these conditions will be released early next year.

James Lowman, Chief Executive of ACS said: “We welcome the removal of the discretionary local conditions from the Policing and Crime Bill. This is something we have campaigned for; as we felt placing conditions on a group of premises went against the case by case approach of the licensing act. It is essential that any conditions placed on an individual licence are an effective response to specific problems linked to that premises – anything else is unjustified restriction on trade.

“We still have concerns regarding the new clause in the Bill, which makes licensing authorities interested parties in the Licensing Act. This will mean that Local Authorities will act as objector as well as judge and jury, giving rise to significant questions about fairness. Government has much work to do to ensure that the process does not become unfairly balanced against licensees.”

Contacts:

Shane Brennan Public Affairs Director
01252 533009/ 07921 372 978
Chris Noice Communications Coordinator
01252 533013

Notes to Editors:

1. ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) is the voice of local shops, representing over 33,500 convenience stores. ACS helps local shops thrive through lobbying, support and networking opportunities.
2. ACS provides free licensing advice to its members, which can be found at http://www.acs.org.uk or by calling 01252 515001.