Clause 18 - Power of police to require review of premises licence
Violent Crime Reduction Bill
2:00 pm
James Clappison (Hertsmere, Conservative)
We come to a different subject—licence reviews. In amendment No. 46, we ask what will happen if there is a summary review on the application of a police officer. As the Committee will know, the Bill introduces a new procedure, under which the police can apply for a summary review if they are not satisfied with the way in which premises are being run. To make such an application, a senior police officer must give
“a certificate that it is his opinion that the premises are associated with serious crime or serious disorder”.
The amendments are intended to probe the meanings of serious crime and serious disorder in this context.
Serious crime is defined in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, but the expression “serious disorder” appears nowhere in statute, although it has been used in three judgments involving a finding of serious disorder. However, none of those is entirely helpful in the context of alcohol disorder. For the assistance of the Committee, I can say that one of those occasions was during the miners’ strike. Another was during an episode involving the WOMBLES—the White Overalls Movement Building Libertarian Effective Struggles. The last was during a Labour party meeting in Wales, although the Minister will be relieved to know that it was in the 1960s, in Pembrokeshire. Indeed, despite using a definition of serious disorder, the judge found that there had not, in fact, been serious disorder on that occasion, although there had been disorder. We could not imagine that happening today, could we, Mr. Forth? None the less, we need a little detail from the Minister about what the word “serious” means in this context.