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News
New PM to review Licensing Act
The possibility of a review of the 24-hour licensing laws was raised during Gordon Brown’s first press conference as Prime Minister, which took place earlier on this week.
Brown has already announced plans to drop the super-casino in Manchester and has recently expressed his concerns about the current classification of cannabis.
There are fears that he may look to revoke further decisions taken by Tony Blair’s Government, including the Licensing Act, following heightened awareness of the risks of binge drinking.
His comments followed the recent publication of the Home Office’s interim report on violent crime, disorder and criminal damage recorded since the introduction of the Licensing Act. He said: “Clearly there are strong feelings about what has actually happened. I have actually looked at the evidence myself. There has of course been an increase in the number of arrests from 3.00 am – 6.00 am, and you might expect that, but it is not a very significant part of the amount of arrests that take place in our community.”
Despite mentioning “complaints from different areas” about “the social effects” of the 24-hour drinking laws, Brown was measured in his response to journalists’ questions: “Let's look at the evidence when we do the review and then we will see what conclusions we can draw from what has been the experience of the last few years…Let's look at the 24 hours in the context of a review and not rush to judgment.”
According to the Home Office report, the numbers of “more serious violent crimes” fell in the 12 months following the introduction of the Licensing Act in November 2005, compared with the previous year. Decreases occurred in the evening hours before midnight, with increases between 3am and 6am. A fall also occurred in “less serious wounding offences”.
Commenting on behalf of the drinks industry, Jeremy Beadles, WSTA CEO, said: “A number of reviews have already been conducted and any glitches are being ironed out. These reviews indicate that the current licensing laws are working fairly well.”
When asked when results of the review were likely to be available, a spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media & Sports told the drinks business: “We have been monitoring the Licensing Act closely since it was implemented 18 months ago. We are evaluating every aspect of the Act and expect to be in a position to make a statement towards the end of the year.”
© Fionnuala Synnott, 25/07/07