By Richard Williams of thePublican.com's legal team of experts from London solicitors Joelson Wilson
As I write this article, the publication by the government of draft local authority guidelines for the Licensing Bill is awaited.
Peers in the House of Lords have recognised that the proposed bill is very much a "framework" which lacks detailed procedural requirements. The bill framework indicates proposed fee levels under the new legislation, but these proposed figures may change when they are introduced by way of regulation by the secretary of state.
While I consider it vital that further details about proposed fees should be produced now, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that fixed fee proposals will not be produced "for some time". The proposed fees (which will be set centrally) for personal and premises licences are set out below:
Personal licence
During the transitional period most existing alcohol licence holders will be exempt from having to attend a qualifying course but will have to produce a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure certificate.
The proposed application fee for a personal licence is £30 and this licence will last for 10 years. After the transitional period, any new applicant for a licence will be required to attend a qualifying course (costing £150 to £175), to produce a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure certificate (£12) and to pay the application fee (£30).
Premises licence
The framework document indicates that the fee for a premises licence will be between £100 and £500, although it is proposed that there will be a series of fee bands dependent on the size of the premises.
Smaller operations will be charged fees at the lower end of the scale. There will also be a further annual fee of around £50 to £150, to cover inspections and enforcement during the life of the licence.
It is proposed that there will be a notification fee of £10 payable when a business changes hands or a new premises supervisor is appointed.
You will no doubt have heard objections from local authorities about the level of fees proposed. Some authorities have indicated that the proposed fees are too low and that they will be unable to cope with the new legislation given the amount of revenue that they will be able to raise.
The DCMS has indicated that the government is prepared to listen to local authorities and the industry, and is considering whether the proposed fee scale should be sensitive to regional variations.
However, even if the fees were increased, major savings to the industry will be made due to a reduction in the compliance costs incurred. Whether the savings will £1.97bn over 10 years - as quantified by the government - remains to be seen.