Clause 14 - Authorised persons, interested parties and responsible authorities
Licensing Bill [Lords]
3:00 pm
Dr Kim Howells (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Pontypridd, Labour)
I can imagine a situation in which a licensing authority would see it fit and proper to discuss matters with whichever department arranges and controls street cleaning. The hon. Gentleman referred to the problem of trying to clean using brooms when streets are crowded. I am sure that he will recall that one of the things that the Government are aiming for in the Bill is to prevent those spikes
when people are thrown out of pubs at a certain time. If that is successful, there should be more space on the pavements.
To add the principal litter authority for the area to the list of responsible authorities and to make it a body that must be consulted on every application will add to the bureaucracy. Litter is generated by thoughtless and inconsiderate individuals; not by licensed premises per se. It seems rather unfair to single out licensed premises, as the amendment does. Litter may derive from a variety of sources, such as fast food outlets, schools—all sorts of places. Where education and persuasion are insufficient to tackle the problem, statutory powers are available to local authorities. Section 93 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provides that councils may issue to the occupiers of certain types of commercial or retail premises a street litter control notice, with a view to preventing the accumulation of litter or refuse around streets or open land adjacent to any street in the vicinity of those premises.
The types of premises that are specified in the Street Litter Control Notices Order 1991, as amended, include those used for the sale of food, drink and lottery tickets, petrol stations, betting shops, places of entertainment and premises with automatic telling machine—ATMs—on outside walls. For example, an authority can specify reasonable requirements in relation to a maximum length of 100 m along a street in either direction—I understand that it is 10 m for ATMs. Furthermore, local authorities may issue persons with fixed penalty notices for leaving litter in breach of the 1990 Act.
A few months ago, Cardiff city council—it is nice to be able to mention a council other than Westminster during the debate—issued fixed penalty notices for those breaking environmental laws under the council's tough policy on litter. Here is what Westminster Conservatives had to say on their website on the subject of litter: ''Adequate enforcement''—they may not have said it in this accent—
''is another aspect of clean streets. Last year, Westminster issued over 7,300 litter fines—more than every other council in the country combined.''
I am not sure whether that is good or bad. I suspect that it is good, and it is a remarkable fact. That council has gone a long way in trying to tackle the problem of litter.
Powers clearly exist and they are being used. The 1990 Act includes the general offence of leaving litter. As my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Blizzard) made clear, many such issues are being dealt with in the Local Government Bill. His own Bill—I had the pleasure of listening to him introducing it in the House last Friday—paid specific attention to these issues. That was a good initiative.
It is unfair to single out licensed premises as the main culprits. Local authorities have wide powers to take action where it is merited and where voluntary engagement by individual businesses does not achieve results. Amendment No. 122 adds nothing to the Bill and I hope that it will not be pressed.