Clause 6 - Statement of licensing policy
Licensing Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Dr Kim Howells (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Pontypridd, Labour)
No, there may well be different periods, although if a local authority wants to make them coterminous there is no reason why it should not. We have chosen three years because that is a fair length of time and provides a good balance, offering a good sense of continuity. As hon. Members on both sides of the Committee have pointed out in previous sittings, things can change very quickly, especially in city centres. New businesses can arrive and others can close down. Three years is a pretty good balance.