Licence fee review published

25 JANUARY 2007

LICENCE FEE REVIEW PUBLISHED

UPFRONT, NEWS, FEBRUARY 2007, COMMENTS

An independent report into the level of fees for alcohol and entertainment licences was laid before the House of Commons in January.

The long awaited Independent Licensing Fees Review report, conducted by a panel chaired by Sir Les Elton, was commissioned to look at the Licensing Act 2003 fees to ensure they were set at the right level for licensees and local councils.

Following a close examination of the fees and local authority spending during the first eighteen months of the new regime, the panel has found that local authorities will have spent more than they received in licensing fees during the first three years. It also found that fee payers incurred higher costs than anticipated.

The report states that some local authorities went beyond what was expected of them in budget terms, and concluded that as a result it was the authorities - and not the Government or trade – who should pay most of the £100m extra costs that they incurred.

With regard to future fees, the panel recommends they should increase by seven per cent for the three year period from 2007/08, a move expected to generate an extra £3m revenue a year, the panel states. The fees would be reviewed again in three years’ time – 2009/10 – for implementation in 2010/11.

The panel also made a number of other recommendations intended to streamline the licensing process. These include the suggestion all local authorities should accept electronic applications; that fees for exceptionally large events, such as music festivals and country fairs, should be set locally; that the multiplier on bands D and E - covering the largest premises - should be redefined; and that the application forms and processes should be simplified.

Sir Les Elton said: “We have found our task of reviewing the fees regime to be an extremely interesting but a complex one. Most stakeholders have acknowledged that there is no single right answer across all interested groups. We have also been aware throughout the review that benefiting one set of stakeholders can lead to a whole new set of disadvantages for others.

“We have arrived at a set of recommendations which we believe to be based on common sense and to offer a sensible way forward.”

Licensing Minister, Shaun Woodward said: “I am pleased that the panel thinks the fees model is broadly right. As the report acknowledges, setting the fees is a complex task. We based our original estimates on the best information available at the time, but always accepted that fees might have to change in light of actual experience. That is why we established the panel.

“We will fully consider all the recommendations in the report and publish a response shortly. Once we have reached a decision, we will undertake a full public consultation before making any changes, so licensees, local authorities and the public can have their say.

From: February 2007 Issue

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