Business warns of looming licensing crisis
Ministers are being urged to extend the deadline for new licensing laws amid concerns that thousands of businesses have still not applied for their new licence.
The Licensing Act 2003, due to come into force in November, is a key part of the government’s efforts to tackle binge drinking and anti-social behaviour.
It will put licensing in the hands of local authorities rather than magistrates, allowing them to take tougher action against firms serving underage drinkers and give local residents, police and businesses a say in licensing decisions.
But just a day before the deadline for firms to apply to transfer their existing licenses, trade groups are warning that thousands of businesses have yet to submit applications.
The government expects 75 per cent of those firms currently licensed to have applied for a new licence by tomorrow. The remainder will lose their current right to sell alcohol, and will have to reapply for a new one from scratch.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) today urges the government to extend the deadline for at least a month to fend off the “looming crisis threatening to engulf the licensing trade”.
It says councils have failed to explain to businesses what the new licensing laws entail, adding that the new legislation has introduced a raft of new paperwork and extra costs that are “enough to drive our members to drink”.
“Many of them do not realise that their old alcohol licences, issued by magistrates courts costing £30 for three years, will all expire in November,” said FPB spokesman Rex Garratt.
He said the new application is 27 pages long and costs between £100 and £600 a year, after which they must pay a personal license fee of at least £70 a year to sell alcohol themselves.
“One of our FPB members who runs a private hotel worked out it will cost 2,600 per cent more in fees for his liquor licence. Meanwhile, a new liquor licence application could require a scale drawing of his premises that could cost as much as £1,500 in architects and legal fees,” Mr Garratt added.
Ministers have refused to extend the deadline, however, and licensing minister James Purnell said he believed concerns about what would happen to those missing it were “overhyped”.
He told Today there had been a “late surge” in applications, and about 90 per cent of all pubs had now applied, although the overall figure was about 75 per cent.
“I think the widespread predictions of chaos have been overhyped and what we need to do now is to focus on sectors like Chinese restaurants, like late-night caffs and takeaways who have applied less,” he said.
