Clause 3 - Licensing Authorities
Licensing Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
Yes, that is the case because Westminster charges more than other local authorities. It is already saying that if there is a fixed-fee structure it will not be able to deliver as it does at the moment. That is not my argument. I am saying that the Government's figures on the cost of compliance compared with the current cost do not bear scrutiny. Those figures cannot be
justified and if the basis for making the switch is that there will be a saving, I think that it is unproven.
The Government should retract any argument that says that licensees will save money. I suspect that once the local authorities get their hands on the process, there will be real fear. One of the reasons that publicans are saying that they would rather stay with magistrates than make the switch is their experience of PELs. Their experience of applying to local authorities for PELs is horrendous in many instances. The last thing that they want is to turn to local authorities for all their licensing. They are resisting that change and it is down to the Government to make the case that a switch of the sort suggested in the Bill is beneficial to the community and to those involved.