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   Home Secretary to crack down on binge-drinking in new anti-social behaviour drive
Plans to crack down on binge-drinking hotspots and give communities more influence over licensing applications were unveiled today ahead of a key speech on anti-social behaviour. Home Secretary Theresa May said the "cafe culture" benefits of 24-hour drinking failed to materialise and tougher action is needed to tackle alcohol-related problems. Licensing laws need to be overhauled to give communities greater flexibility to find a solution that suits them, dealing with irresponsible premises while allowing late-night drinking where it is wanted, she said. Measures to make it easier for communities to influence licensing decisions, tougher penalties for those selling alcohol to children and higher licensing fees to cover the cost of extra policing are also being considered, as is a ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price. Mrs May said police and hospital A&E departments had been left to "bear the brunt" of booze-fuelled violence. Last year there were almost one million alcohol-related violent crimes, with a fifth of all violent incidents taking place in or around a pub or club, and almost two-thirds of these happening at night, the Home Office said. The Government plans to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder, which costs the taxpayer between £8 billion and £13 billion each year, by giving authorities the power to crack down on the premises that cause problems. Mrs May said: "The benefits promised by the 24-hour drinking 'cafe culture' have failed to materialise and in its place we have seen an increase in the number of alcohol-related incidents and drink-fuelled crime and disorder. "We know that the majority of pubs and bars are well-run businesses but the Government believes that the system needs to be rebalanced in favour of the local communities they serve with tougher action taken to crack down on the small number of premises who cause problems." The range of options being considered in an overhaul to the Licensing Act also include: * Making it easier for communities to influence licensing decisions by allowing local authorities to consider the views of the wider community, not just those living close to premises; * Taking tough action against under-age drinking by doubling the fine to £20,000 for those found persistently selling alcohol to children; and * Tightening up rules for temporary licences, often used to get around the restrictions of a permanent licence, by limiting the number that can be applied for in any one year. Mark Hunter, president and chief executive officer of Coors Brewers Europe and Asia, urged the Government to tackle the country's problem drinking without penalising pubs, responsible drinkers or local industry. He added that the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol would be "a more efficient tool to reduce alcohol harm than a rise in duty". "Sharing a beer with friends is one of life's simple pleasures so it is fundamental for us to target irresponsible, excessive drinking, and not the responsible consumer," he said. The Magistrates' Association urged the Government to consider returning control and management of licensing powers back to the magistrates' courts. Chairman John Thornhill said: "There has been a failure to produce any national control over personal licence holders and this has resulted in a more expensive and less satisfactory system than before the Act came into force." Source: 24dash.com Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
