Clause 1 - Licensable activities and qualifying club activities
Licensing Bill [Lords]
9:30 am
Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon, Liberal Democrat)
No, I do not, but I have not finished yet. The hon. Gentleman was correct in saying that the problems are not unique to the Cities of London and Westminster. It is probable that there will be certain known pinpoint areas in almost every local authority, and I accept that local authorities will want to develop, through local licensing policy, an approach to deal with such areas. My objection remains that by inviting them to go down the route suggested by the
amendments, the old regime would effectively be reintroduced by the back door.
I am pleased that the Government have taken the view that the licence application fee will be set nationally within a banding system. I am sure that, as a thrusting deregulator, the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster envisages that the environmental impact assessments will be straightforward, small-scale operations and I am sure that he has the most benign intention in suggesting that local authorities should be able to set a special fee for late night applications. However, just wait until those in local government, who are of a rather less deregulatory inclination than the hon. Gentleman, get their hands on this. They will reintroduce ludicrously punitive—[Interruption.] Yes, I have no doubt that Liberal councils will be among them; I am sorry that I cannot acquit them of culpability in this matter. The local authorities will all be as bad as each other. They will demand enormous impact assessments with bells and whistles that will cost everyone a fortune to commission. Should they be allowed to set their own fees for late night applications, they will be equipped with a remarkable variety of sticks and clubs with which to bang applicants over the head. That is a theme to which we will return as we deal with further clauses.
I understand that the hon. Gentleman intends there to be three checks: an assumption of a standard closure at midnight, the requirement for there to be an impact assessment for times after midnight and the ability to charge super-normal fees for premises that want to go beyond midnight. If those are added together, there should be fundamental queries about whether the purpose of the Bill is being undermined.