Clause 80 - Notification of change of name or alteration
Licensing Bill [Lords]
6:00 pm
Dr Kim Howells (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Pontypridd, Labour)
Clauses 80 and 81 set out that clubs must notify the relevant licensing authority of any change in the name or rules of the club, or in the address of the club. Such information is essential for enforcement, because licensing authorities and other relevant agencies must have accurate up-to-date information.
Clubs are groups that are voluntarily established to engage in qualifying club activities, among other things. It is because of the nature of these activities, which impact on public safety, crime, disorder and nuisance, that clubs will have to continue to apply for certificates, as they currently have to apply for registration. Furthermore, it is because of the implications of club activities for safety, crime, disorder and nuisance that the Government's policy is to require fees from clubs to cover the costs of administration, inspection and enforcement, so that such costs do not fall to the taxpayer.
The amendments would remove the Secretary of State's power to set a fee for notifications of changes in the name or address of a club or in its rules. As I made clear previously, fees will be set at a fair and appropriate level that will allow licensing authorities to recover the costs of administration, inspection and enforcement, following full discussions with local government. To remove the power to prescribe fees for notifications would mean that local authorities would have to find the money to cover their costs elsewhere, perhaps by raising the fees for other applications or notifications—in effect, by asking the licensed trade to subsidise the club movement. That would be unfair and unacceptable.