Lords have slammed Government plans to make licensees stump up cash to pay for the problems of alcohol-related disorder.
Peers called the controversial plans for Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs) unfair on responsible operators and doubted they would stop late night disorder.
The criticisms came during the second reading on the Violent Crime Reduction Bill in the House of Lords yesterday.
Tory peer Baroness Anelay of St Johns said: "It seems odd that licensees who control their premises impeccably should have to pay for the cost of dealing with the disorder caused by others who may not even be licensees."
Significant DoubtsLiberal Democrat Lord Clement-Jones said he had "significant doubts" about venues paying a levy for policing, and wondered "whether the same ends could be achieved by voluntary means."
He also hit out at the lack of detail in the Bill about ADZs.
A Labour peer vowed to push for tighter enforcement to reduce under age sales and serving drunks, during the discussion on the Violent Crime Reduction Bill.Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe pointed to just eight prosecutions for selling alcohol to drunks, and 616 prosecution for serving under 18s, during 2003."It is important that the Bill does not become just more legislation to be under-enforced or not enforced at all."For that reason, I will table an additional amendment to allow this House to discuss mechanisms for monitoring the enforcement of this Bill's measures to reduce sales of alcohol to under-age drinkers, and to assess their impact annually."
For example, questions remain about whether nightclubs will be exempt and what impact will ADZs have on residents.
He asked exactly what the money would be spent on, fearing it could "turn out to be rather a nice little earner for local authorities".
Is there a need?He questioned the need for ADZs because conditions can already be placed on premises under the new Licensing Act.
And pointing to the lack of enforcement of existing laws on drunken behaviour, he asked: "Do we really need these new powers if the existing ones are not being used properly?"
"Why should businesses ever join a voluntary scheme [to tackle disorder] if there is compulsion through an ADZ?"
There were also calls for supermarkets to be exempt.
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