Clause 19 - Closure of certain licensed premises due todisorder or disturbance
Criminal Justice and Police Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Charles Clarke (Minister of State, Home Office; Norwich South, Labour)
I am prepared to consider that. Earlier, I talked about the hierarchy of legislation; it is a matter of judgment where the guidance sits in that hierarchy, but it is certainly important. I assure the hon. Gentleman that I shall have a good look at the matter to see whether regulation, rather than guidance, would be more appropriate.
Amendment No. 130 would require the senior police to have evidence of disorder as outlined in the clause. It would create objective, rather than subjective, tests, and therefore represents a higher threshold of police action. I am concerned about the proposal, not because I do not understand the points that were well made by the hon. Member for Reigate (Mr. Blunt)—in general, I agree that the threshold for action should be higher rather than lower—but because an objective test is difficult to achieve, especially in view of the extent of the sanction available: closure for up to 24 hours in normal circumstances. For those reasons, I urge my hon. Friends not to support amendment No. 130. Having to establish an objective rather than a subjective test makes it more difficult to assess a situation.
Amendments Nos. 131 and 132 would prevent the police from making a closure order if the disorder, or the likely disorder, occurred or was expected to occur in the vicinity of the licensed premises—that is, outside the premises. That would be a mistake, as disorder inside a premises can turn into disorder outside.
Amendment No. 81 would require the senior police officer to have reasonable grounds to believe that there will be disorder on or in the vicinity of the premises and that the closure of the premises is necessary in the interests of public safety. The amendment is not well worded; it attempts to create an objective, rather than a subjective test. It fails to achieve its purpose by creating a mixed test involving objective and subjective elements, which will be confusing for the police and the courts.