Police and licensing reform plans outlined by Home Office

The Home Office Structural Reform Plan [pdf] was released this week, outlining the Coalition's plans to reform policing, licensing, civil liberties, counter-terrorism and immigration laws. The plan details its alcohol and licensing plans as:

Overhaul alcohol licensing to give more power to police and local authorities to meet the concerns of local communities:

1. Consult and develop proposals to overhaul the Licensing Act 2003 to strengthen local authority and police powers to remove licenses from, or refuse to grant licenses to, any premises that are causing problems
2. Legislate through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill
3. Develop options for alcohol taxation and pricing to ensure it tackles binge drinking, working with Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury
4. Develop options to ban below-cost sale of alcohol, working with other government departments
5. Introduce legislation if necessary

The reform plan includes timescales and indicates the below cost ban will be agreed by November 2010, with alcohol taxation reformed for April 2011 and the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill passed by November 2011.

Comments

[Robbie]

I welcome the overhaul of Licensing act 2003, and the powers of local government and police to remove or refuse license of problematic premises. What I believe needs to be scrutinised is the giving of licences in the first place to inappropriate premises. Does every newsagent, garage and convienence store in The Medway Towns have to have an alcohol licence, and do they have to be granted licence to sell alcohol from 7am ??