draft Licensing Act 2003 (Her majesty The Queen's Birthday Licensing Hours) order 2016
(8 years, 6 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Karen Bradley)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Licensing Act 2003 (Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Licensing Hours) Order 2016.
May I say that there are very few Chairs as appropriate for this Committee as you, Mr Rosindell?
The order, which was laid in Parliament on 12 April, makes provision for the relaxation of licensing hours in England and Wales for the weekend of the official birthday celebrations of Her Majesty the Queen in June. I ought to start by declaring an interest: my family are publicans. Some may therefore think that my family will benefit from the order. I assure them that the Queen’s Head—of High Street, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6EU, just for the record—has a licence until 1 am every Friday and Saturday, so it will not benefit from the order.
Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State to make a licensing hours order to allow licensed premises to open for specified extended hours on occasions of
“exceptional international, national, or local significance”.
Licensing hours have previously been extended for the royal wedding in 2011, the diamond jubilee in 2012 and the World cup in 2014. As the Committee will be aware, Her Majesty the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday this year. The Government consider that that is a nationally significant event and that many people will wish to celebrate the occasion. For the record, the first ever Staffordshire Day, marking 1,000 years of the county of Staffordshire, will take place this weekend; the Government do not currently recognise it as a nationally significant event, but it is clearly a locally significant event for people in Staffordshire Moorlands.
The Government propose to allow premises to remain open later on the weekend of Her Majesty’s official birthday in June. The order will allow licensed premises to extend their opening hours on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 June until 1 am. It will apply to premises licences and club premises certificates in England and Wales, which license the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises. Those premises will be allowed to remain open without having to notify the licensing authority and the police via a temporary event notice, as would usually be the case. Premises that sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, such as off-licences and supermarkets, are not covered by the order.
I hope the Committee will agree with the Government that the licensing hours order is an appropriate use of the powers conferred on the Home Secretary by the Licensing Act 2003. I commend the order to the Committee.
Lyn Brown (West Ham) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for explaining the purpose and intent of the order, which we support. The order will permit licensed premises to open for two additional hours, beginning at 11 pm, on 10 and 11 June. As we have already heard, that is the weekend of the Queen’s official birthday; I am sure that some public events are already being planned to celebrate the joyous occasion. This order would allow premises to stay open later without having to give a temporary event notice. We agree with the Government that it would not be appropriate to relax licensing hours for the sale of alcohol off licensed premises; I am sure that anybody who wishes to celebrate at home will buy alcohol in advance during normal trading hours.
Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 gives the Secretary of State the power to make a licensing hours order. As we have heard, that power has previously been used to extend licensing hours for the royal wedding, the diamond jubilee and the World cup. I am sure we all recall those occasions fondly and agree that, ignoring England’s performance in the football, they were a great success. What more significant an occasion is there than the birthday of our longest-reigning monarch? We saw only last week how keen people are to mark the occasion: even POTUS flew in to celebrate with the Queen on her actual birthday.
The consultation on the order sought a wide range of views. The Government consulted the Welsh Government; the national police lead on alcohol; the police and crime commissioners’ lead on alcohol; the Local Government Association; the Institute of Licensing; the National Organisation of Residents’ Associations; the British Beer and Pub Association; and the Association of Multiple Licensed Retailers. All of the respondents, with the exception of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, agreed that the plans should go ahead.
The Association of PCCs had concerns that the order would be disruptive and pose an increased risk of alcohol-related disorder. The concerns are indeed serious, especially as both Wales and England will play football matches on 11 June, which could lead to all-day drinking. However, I have been reassured that there is no evidence that there was serious disruption or disorder during the previous periods covered by licensing hour orders.
The near unanimous support for the order is in stark contrast to the consultation of 2011—the first time the power was used—when there was widespread concern about an increase in crime and disorder. The enthusiasm shown this time round is a testament to the success of previous licensing hours orders and to the magnitude of the occasion that we are about to celebrate.
I note that the last time the power was used for the 2014 World cup in Brazil, the impact assessment that was produced stated:
“While England are certain to be playing in the matches in the first period, there is a high probability that they will not be playing in the later matches.”
Sadly, the Government’s impact assessment was all too accurate. Reading it drew my attention to the fact that no impact assessment has been prepared this time round, so may I gently ask the Minister why?
I was encouraged to read in the explanatory memorandum that the order saves businesses the £21 fee for getting a temporary event notice. It is estimated that the pub industry will make a cumulative saving of between £240,000 and £480,000. I hope that the forecasts are as accurate this time as they were about England’s chances in the World cup.
This information on the benefits of the order is most welcome. However, the explanatory memorandum is a little thin on the ground when it comes to the costs of the order. The memorandum states:
“The impact on the public sector may comprise additional policing costs. However, the operational response will vary from force to force and within force, depending on the perception of likely crime and disorder associated with late night opening. The Government would expect forces to meet these costs from within their existing budgets.”
As the order has now been used on two separate royal occasions, I wonder whether the memorandum could have been slightly more helpful. The Government seem to be able to forecast the potential savings for businesses based on previous celebrations, but fail to do the same for the costs for the police. I say gently that providing that extra information might have eased the concerns that the PCCs expressed during the consultation.
We support the order. The Queen’s 90th birthday is a moment of national significance and celebration. Keeping the pubs open for an extra couple of hours will make the party all the more enjoyable, I am sure. I look forward to passing a similar order when England win Euro 2016 but, hopefully, that will come with a proper assessment of the costs and an improved explanatory memorandum.
Karen Bradley
I thank the hon. Lady for her support for the order. I think we all share a desire to enjoy and mark the Queen’s 90th birthday and to allow people to enjoy themselves. I agree that we want to see people going out and having a good time without the fear or risk of crime. That is the work that the Government are doing across the board on the night-time economy. The more we can enjoy a safe and healthy night-time economy the better it is for all of us: better for businesses, better for residents and better for those who go out and enjoy themselves.
The hon. Lady asked why the Government had not produced an impact assessment. That is because the previous impact assessment on the World cup covered such a wide range of possibilities; we did not feel it was proportionate at this stage to produce something additional to the previous assessment, which came back with between £240,000 and £480,000, which is quite a wide spread.
I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s comments. I listened carefully to what she said about the explanatory memorandum, but I am grateful for her support.
Question put and agreed to.