Council leader Jane Roberts explains the minefield facing publicans and how the taxpayer might have to pay for the problems

More than four years after the government’s 2001 manifesto pledge, the final countdown to licensing reform is underway.
The Licensing Act 2003, often misleadingly referred to by the media as the “24-hour drinking law”, came into force this month.
This marks the end of the existing licensing regime and the start of a major overhaul of the system.
The Licensing Act 2003 hands local authorities the responsibility for all liquor, entertainment and late night refreshment licensing.
It adopts a de-regulatory approach, abandoning the fixed closing time of 11pm and paving the way for much later licences – although 24-hour licensing is much less likely than you might think from press reports.
Under the new system, Camden Council cannot reject applications to vary licence conditions, such as opening hours, unless it receives relevant representations from residents and other stakeholders. This means resident input into consultation on proposed applications is extremely important.
It is therefore imperative that residents, businesses and licensees engage with the council at this early stage as it prepares for its new responsibilities.
Licensing is an issue that affects everybody. This is particularly true in Camden, where the number of licensed premises is among the highest in the capital, second only to Westminster.
Under the existing regime, the council is responsible for licensing 175 night-cafes, public entertainment venues and sex shops.
Under the new scheme the council will be responsible for all 1,700 licensed premises in the borough, of which at least 60 per cent are expected to apply to extend their hours under the act.
In Camden, high-density accommodation sits cheek by jowl with high-density licensed premises.
This means that bar closing times and alcohol-related anti-social behaviour can have a major impact on residents’ lives.
For these reasons, the new act is an important piece of legislation for everyone in the borough.
This council has grave reservations about the details of its implementation.
It has vastly increased local authorities’ scope without giving them powers effectively to discharge their new responsibilities or curb alcohol-related anti-social behaviour.
For this reason, the council has lobbied extensively around the new Licensing Act, with some success. For example, we lobbied heavily on the issue of having too many licensed premises in one area.
As a result, the government introduced the concept of special policies to manage cumulative impact and the potential for anti-social behaviour.
Despite this, special policies are limited in their ability for the council to reject certain licensing applications.
However, by combining them with other measures like the Camden Town Controlled Drinking Zone and partnerships with the police and other stakeholders, we are confident of being able to manage the impact on the night time economy.
A major challenge that remains unresolved is the licensing fee structure set by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Despite the welcome increase in licensing fees recently announced by Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, the council’s projections show that it is still likely to incur costs of around £2m over the next four years.
This is £1m less than previously estimated – a fact in no small part attributable to Camden’s vocal and sustained lobbying over fee levels, but still a very substantial sum that will have to be picked up by taxpayers.
The high numbers of licensed premises in the borough and the nature of these premises mean that unless fee levels are adjusted, taxpayers may still have to foot part of the bill for the new Licensing Act.
This is unacceptable. Local authorities were promised that licensing fees would be set at a level to cover actual costs of implementing the act. Independent scrutiny of the council’s projected costs so far indicates that our figures are robust.
Tessa Jowell has promised the situation will be monitored closely and will take action if it appears there will be a shortfall.
Despite all this, Camden has worked hard to draft a policy that protects quality of life.
The policy was drawn up following extensive public consultation (eight weeks) and aims to balance the needs of residents, businesses and licensees.
On February 7, the Licensing Act 2003 comes into force. From this date, licensees have six months to apply to convert, or convert and vary, their licence. People can also apply for a personal licence.
All applications for premises licences must be determined within two months of their receipt and all applications for personal licences must be determined within three months of their receipt.
The transition period will end and the act come into full force around November 2005, when current licences will cease to operate and new premises licences will come into effect.
The council has gone beyond what is required to make sure residents and licensees are aware of what will be required.
We are about to initiate an awareness campaign with information guides, application packs and toolkits for residents and licensees. These will explain the various responsibilities and timetables.
Methods to communicate this information will include the council’s website, mail-outs and communications forums.
We are employing the latest technology, such as an online licensing register, where residents will be able to view applications and make relevant representations.
We have created two short films with an overview of the licensing regime, downloadable on the council’s website.
Due to delays from the government, some of this information will go out later than anticipated.
We are writing to licensees to inform them of our phasing plan to manage the 4,000 personal and premises applications we are expecting over the nine-month transition period.
For information call the licensing team on 020 7974 2766.