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Northern Ireland: Liquor Licensing
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): My honourable friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland (David Hanson) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
This Statement sets out my plans to reform liquor licensing law in Northern Ireland. The last review of the law governing liquor licensing and registered clubs took place some 10 years ago. Since then the social and economic climate in Northern Ireland has changed and improved immensely. The peace dividend has altered the shape of the tourism and hospitality sectors and of town and city centres. There is great potential for further growth, and liquor licensing law must keep pace with these developments and with modern expectations.
Coupled
with that is the need for a more transparent, accountable and better
regulated framework for the licensed trade. There are clear anomalies
in the current licensing system and a requirement for greater
enforcement
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The consultation on proposed changes to the existing legislation was launched in November 2005. Since then I have had a number of discussions with political representatives and other interested parties. There has been support from both local political parties and the licensed trade for many of my proposals. Concerns have been expressed by politicians and parts of the licensed trade regarding two of the proposed changes. These are the transfer of responsibility for liquor licensing from courts to district councils and the abolition of the “surrender” principle. I welcome the views that have been put and now confirm that my plans for the reform of the law on liquor licensing and registered clubs in Northern Ireland are as follows:
The introduction of six new objectives to underpin licensing policy, legislation and regulation. These are: promotion of public health; promotion of public safety; prevention of crime and disorder; prevention of public nuisance; protection of children from harm; and fair treatment of all stakeholders.New, more effective enforcement measures, including immediate temporary closure powers for the police, a penalty points system for licensees who break the law and new council liquor licensing officers.Moving responsibility for granting and renewing licences and certificates of registration from courts to district councils, leading to a more accountable, transparent system.Replacing the current 12 categories of licences in favour of a dual system of personal and premises licences.Abolishing the provision which requires an existing licence for a pub or off-licence to be “surrendered” to a court before a new one may be granted. This will be subject to an assessment of the business impact of my proposal which will help decide how this is addressed in the second stage of reforms. I hope it will be the Northern Ireland Assembly that will consider these matters.A voluntary proof-of-age scheme and more flexibility to allow under-18s in certified licensed premises and registered clubs when accompanied by responsible adults.A modest extension of current opening hours for licensed premises and registered clubs, creating scope for opening up to 2 am Monday to Saturday. Sunday opening hours will remain unchanged as will opening hours for off-licences.Revoking the financial controls and accounts formats for registered clubs, prescribed in the Registration of Clubs (Accounts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997, in favour of best practice guidance.The proposals will give police the powers they need to crack down on irresponsible drinkers and rogue traders and make the licensing system more transparent and accountable, giving communities more information and a louder voice in decision-making.
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Allowing licensed premises and registered clubs to apply to the courts to extend their opening hours up to 2 am is the result of careful consideration of the changes in people's social habits and the opportunities available for developing the night time economy. I have listened very carefully to the arguments made by the licensed trade, the police, health interests and others, and balanced the economic and social advantages of extending opening hours with the public interest and public safety. Accordingly, I have decided that opening to 2 am will be available to those licensed premises entitled under existing law to apply for later opening but not to off-licensed premises.
Transferring responsibility for granting liquor licences and club certificates from a court-based system to district councils will create a more accountable system where pubs, off-licences, registered clubs and other licensees will have to explain in detail how their businesses will support the six licensing objectives. There have been concerns expressed about the ability of councils to administer a new liquor licensing system. However, councils already operate a number of regulatory systems including entertainments licensing and street trading, and their range of responsibilities will be greatly enhanced under the Review of Public Administration. The capacity of new councils to undertake these new responsibilities is an issue that is being addressed in the period leading up to the full implementation of the Review of Public Administration. I wish to reassure those concerned that responsibility for liquor licensing will only move to councils once they have built the capacity to administer the new system.
The new system will operate under clear guidelines that will be issued to councils. They will be required to produce a Statement of Licensing Policy that clearly articulates how they plan to control liquor licensing in line with the six licensing objectives. There will be further safeguards. Before councils reach a decision they will have to seek the views of responsible authorities and interested parties such as the Police Service of Northern Ireland, local residents and local businesses. All applications for a licence will be open to objection and a licence may be reviewed, revoked or suspended at any time if there is cause for concern. Those seeking a premises licence will be required to produce an operating plan setting out the nature of the business for approval by councils, and the need for any new licence will have to be clearly demonstrated.
I am replacing the current 12 categories of licence with a dual system of personal and premises licences. This will result in a more robust licensing regime. Personal licences are being introduced for the first time to ensure that those managing licensed premises have accredited qualifications and demonstrate clean backgrounds. This will improve operating standards across the licensed trade and protect against infiltration by those involved in organised crime.
The
surrender provision has created anomalies in the licensed trade. At
present only pubs and off-licences are required to surrender a licence
before being granted a new one. This has capped the overall number of
such premises in Northern Ireland, but it has not prevented the growth
of alcohol sales in other premises such as large hotels, nor the
clustering of pubs and off-licences
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I have listened to the views of local politicians and parts of the licensed trade about the implications of the abolition of surrender. In response to their concerns, I will commission an assessment of the business impact of abolition before making any further decision on the way forward.
I intend to implement some of the proposals as soon as possible. Those relating to enforcement, opening hours, children and registered clubs' accounts should come into effect by Christmas 2007, and draft legislation will be consulted on in Autumn 2006.
With regard to the move to councils, I intend to defer the consideration of this aspect of the legislation, along with some of the other proposals that depend on the new system being operational, to a second, later legislative vehicle. The Review of Public Administration is due for completion in 2009 and the target date for making legislation to transfer responsibility for licensing from courts to district councils and for the introduction of new licensing objectives will be linked to this. This tranche of legislation will also see the abolition of the existing categories of licence and, subject to an impact assessment, the surrender provision. The final decisions on this will hopefully be taken by a devolved Assembly, should it be successfully restored.
I believe this is a balanced package of measures that weighs up the rights, needs and demands of the various interested parties. They will bring licensing law in Northern Ireland up to date, both to deal more effectively with the alcohol-related problems we currently face and to meet modern day expectations. They will result in a more democratic approach that allows local people to have greater influence in how and where the licensed trade operates. They will promote a safe, welcoming environment in town and city centres where the evening and night-time economy can flourish and will encourage investment, variety and high standards of service in the hospitality, tourism and entertainment sectors.
Parental Compensation Order
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): My honourable friend the Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety (Tony McNulty) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Parental Compensation Order (PCO) is provided for by Sections 13A to 13E of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA 1998) which were inserted bySection 144 of and Schedule 10 to the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.
The PCO powers will be commenced initially in 10 local authority areas (Gateshead, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, Wandsworth, Southwark, Leicester, South Tyneside and York). The use, impact and cost of the PCO will be evaluated as part of the wider use of early intervention.
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Attempts to secure voluntary reparation should always be made. The PCO should be used only where that approach fails and when its use would be desirable in the interests of preventing a repetition of the behaviour in question. However, we hope that the existence of the PCO will encourage reparation and wider behavioural change on a voluntary basis.
By requiring the parent(s) or guardian(s) to pay compensation, the PCO is designed to provide compensation to those affected and to prevent further behaviour by the child of the type which caused the order to be made. The PCO will therefore encourage parents and their children to understand their responsibilities and to take responsibility for behaviour.
A PCO is designed to be used as part of a wider strategy to increase the parents' skills and improve their child's behaviour, to address risk factors and underlying problems experienced by the child and family, to steer the child away from involvement in anti-social or offending-type behaviour, to keep the child safe and to encourage positive outcomes.
A magistrates’ court may make a PCO on application from a local authority when it is satisfied:
that the child (who must be under 10) has taken, or caused loss of or damage to property in the course of(a) committing an act which, if he had been aged 10 or over, would have constituted an offence; or(b) acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself; and that it would be desirable to make the order in the interests of preventing a repetition of the behaviour in question.Before making an order, the court must consider:
(a) the views of the person affected by the damage, loss etc. about whether an order should be made in his favour; and(b) the child's family circumstances and the likely effect of the order on those circumstances.It follows that local authority practitioners should form a view about the suitability of a PCO following assessment of the child, parents and family circumstances and in light of experience of trying to resolve the dispute on a voluntary basis. The PCO would be a viable option only with the support of the person affected by the damage, loss etc.
The effect of a PCO is to require the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the child to pay compensation to the person affected. Compensation is limited to £5,000. In deciding the level of compensation the court must take into account:
(a) the value of the damage etc. caused to property by the child;(b) any further loss which flowed from the taking of or damage to the property, or from its loss;(c) whether the child or parent has already paid any compensation, and if so how much;(d) whether the child or parents have made any reparation, and if so what it consisted of;(e) the means of the parents; and20 July 2006 : Column WS122
The court is responsible for enforcement of the order and has the same enforcement powers as it does for fines.
The court can make a parenting order when making a PCO provided this would be desirable in the interests of preventing a repetition of the kind of behaviour which led to the PCO being made.
Guidance on the PCO is being completed with DfES following limited consultation with key stakeholders including the Welsh Assembly Government. Feedback from practitioners will help inform the improvement of the guidance. It is intended that there will be a wider consultation exercise on the guidance before implementation of the PCO across England and Wales.
Patient Power Review Group
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): My honourable friend the Minister of State, Department of Health (Andy Burnham) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
As recommended by Ofcom in its report1 of January 2006, the department set up a patient power review group (PPRG) in February 2006 to explore whether communication services could be offered to hospital patients without charging as high a price for incoming calls. The PPRG has been considering:
all aspects of the charging structure;the requirement to install, with limited clinical exceptions, units at every bedside within a hospital site, irrespective of use;the requirement to offer services through a combined unit, offering television and telephone and capable of offering added value services; andthe need to clarify guidance on use of mobile phones in hospitals.Further work is needed to provide a considered response to the recommendations made in the Health Select Committee’s report on NHS charges published on 18 July. A final report will be published by December 2006.
Plutonium and Uranium: UK Civil Stocks
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): My honourable friend the Minister of State for Energy (Malcolm Wicks) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The department will be placing the
figures for the United Kingdom's stocks of civil plutonium and uranium
as at 31 December 2005 in the Libraries of the House. In accordance
with our commitment under Guidelines for the Management of
Plutonium, we have also sent the figures to the director general of
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The figures show that stocks of unirradiated plutonium in the UK totalled 104.9 tonnes at the end of 2005. Changes from the corresponding figures for 2004 are a consequence of continuing reprocessing operations (e.g. as reflected in the increased quantity of unirradiated separated plutonium in product stores at reprocessing plants). HEU stocks decreased mainly as a result of down-blending. The increase in the civil depleted, natural and low enriched uranium figures reflects the increased stocks at the UK enrichment plant.
Post Office Card Account
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Plaskitt) has made the following Statement.
The Department for Work and Pensions ran a number of small-scale Post Office card account pilots between 13 February and 10 March 2006. The pilots tested various approaches to moving people, from having their benefit or pension paid into a Post Office card account to payments into a bank account, and they have provided us with some useful information on how customers react.
We have already shared the key findings with Post Office Ltd to help it identify customer needs as they develop new savings and banking products which are likely to be more attractive to many of their customers than the current Post Office card account. Post Office Ltd plans to start a three-month trial next week when it will be writing to 10,000 existing Post Office card account customers to encourage them to open one of its new Instant Saver accounts.
Among the key findings from the DWP pilots were:
many customers were not aware that they could use their bank account at the Post Office. This is not just an issue for those receiving a benefit or pension. There are around 20 million people who could access their bank account at a Post Office, but only around 10 per cent (2 million) per week actually do so. This is a huge untapped market which could bring vital new income into Post Office branches. DWP will work with Post Office Ltd and support it in its efforts to increase this market; once customers had moved from the Post Office card account and become used to their new routine, the vast majority (85 per cent) were happy using a bank account rather than a Post Office card account. Customers like the additional features of bank accounts and the flexibility to get their money when and where they want; andthere are opportunities for Post Office Ltd to respond positively to customer demand by providing new products which offer more features than the Post Office card account. Customers need to be properly informed of all of their options and the services that the Post Office offers.20 July 2006 : Column WS124
We will continue to discuss with Post Office Ltd and other key stakeholders how the needs of customers can continue to be met after the Post Office card account contract ends in 2010. DWP officials will also be discussing the findings from the pilots and our future payments strategy with customer representative groups and other key stakeholders over the next few months.
Our commitment to allowing people to continue to collect their benefit or pension in cash at the Post Office if they wish remains unchanged. Around 25 different bank accounts can be accessed at Post Office branches now, and we hope there could be more in the future, as well as new Post Office products.
I am placing a report of the pilot findings in the Library of the House.
Public Bodies: Chairmen
Lord Davies of Oldham: In my Answer of 6 July (Official Report, col. WA 76) to a written parliamentary Question about public bodies, the figure given for the salary of the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority erroneously gave salary details for 2004-05. The correct salary for that position at 31 March 2006 is £124,649.
Railways: Regional Planning Assessments
Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Derek Twigg) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
Today the Department for Transport has published the West Midlands regional planning sssessment for the railway (RPA), the third in a series of 11 RPAs covering England and Wales. The West Midlands RPA covers the whole of the West Midlands region.
RPAs are the key link between regional spatial planning (including preparation of regional transport strategies) and planning for the railway by both government and the rail industry and are designed to inform the development of the Government's strategy for the railway. They look at the challenges and options for development of the railway in each region over the next 20 years, in the wider context of forecast change in population, the economy and travel behaviour. An RPA does not commit the Government to specific proposals. Instead it sets out the Government's current thinking on how the railway might best be developed to allow wider planning objectives for a region to be met, and identifies the priorities for further development work.
The area covered by the
West Midlands RPA hasa population of just over 5.3 million of
which2.5 million live in the West Midlands conurbation centred
on Birmingham. While population levels are not expected to grow
significantly, structural changes in the type of employment available
and greater prosperity are expected to lead to more trips being made.
Growth in rail passenger journeys is forecast for the region and it is
expected that there will be
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Planning for railways in the West Midlands needs to take into account a changing economic and social context set out in the regional spatial strategy and regional economic strategy. I am particularly grateful for the contribution made to the development of the RPA by the Regional Assembly, Advantage West Midlands, local authorities and others.
The RPA clarifies the role of the railway in the region, its contribution to the economy and its place in the overall transport system, setting out where greater rail capability and capacity will be needed over the next 20 years, and the options for responding to that need. The focus of the RPA is making better use of the existing network but it also draws attention to the need to improve access to stations, including interchanges, and the expected need to increase train capacity to meet forecast growth in demand.
Copies of the document have been placed in the House Library.
Roads: M6
Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Transport (Stephen Ladyman) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
On the 19 July last year, I announced that I had asked the Highways Agency to carry out a detailed review to allow an informed decision to be taken on the case for building a new tolled Expressway to run parallel with the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester as an alternative to widening the existing M6 by one lane in each direction. This followed a consultation exercise undertaken in 2004 on the broad concept of an Expressway.
The Government have accepted the need for more road capacity in this corridor, as shown by the Midlands to Manchester multi-modal study (Midman), which reported in July 2002. The issue was how best that capacity could be provided. Given the high level of investment involved whatever option would be taken forward, it was clearly important that we properly considered the potential for the extra benefits that might be achievable from an Expressway.
The 2004 consultation document, M6: giving motorists a choice, suggested that the Expressway might be delivered more quickly than the widening, by avoiding the need to build new structures such as bridges, and avoid substantial disruption to traffic during construction. The evidence from the detailed development work undertaken by the Highways Agency has not borne this out.
The
Highways Agency's modelling suggests that an Expressway would have a
significant impact on both the levels and the mix of traffic using the
Expressway and the M6. In particular, it is likely that the proportion
of heavy freight traffic on the M6—which is already relatively
high—would increase further, requiring additional infrastructure
works at junctions to provide safely for traffic joining and leaving
the road. This, together with providing for the appropriate range of
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Although on-line widening would necessarily involve some disruption to M6 traffic during construction, the phasing of works could mean additional capacity being provided sooner than an entirely new road, with efforts focused on the most heavily trafficked sections first.
The Highways Agency has held a series of seminars and meetings with stakeholders, to set out indicative plans for both options, and take feedback. On the basis of these more clearly defined propositions, few stakeholders regarded the Expressway as an attractive alternative to widening.
In the light of the further development work and stakeholder consultation, we have therefore decided not to pursue the Expressway alternative any further.
The Highways Agency has continued to progress the widening option and will now focus solely on that. This work will include examining the demand management measures needed to ensure that the benefits of additional capacity are locked-in.
A more detailed report on the options review has been placed in the Library of the House.
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