Q&A: Shaun Woodward

There may never be an ideal time to be appointed licensing minister, but Shaun Woodward does appear to have been fortunate in some respects.

Just over six months into the new Licensing Act and the predicted Armageddon has not materialised, ensuring the government can give itself a gentle pat on the back for introducing the legislation.

Of course it was one of Tony Blair's golden boys, James Purnell, who presided over the introduction of the Act, but it is Mr Woodward, appointed last month, who is now in charge of steering it forward.

But how well does the new minister really believe the Act is bedding in? And what is he planning to do to reduce the cost of licensing that dogs the industry?

Here are the responses that Mr Woodward gave to an exclusive question and answer session conducted with The Publican…

What are your first impressions about the Licensing Act? ​

That it was a significant reform and has been successfully implemented thanks to the efforts of local authorities, the licensed trade, police and everyone involved.

It is, of course, too early to draw any conclusions about the impact of the new laws, but it does seem that there has been no discernable increase in alcohol-related crime and disorder since November. There have been many reports of the police, local authorities and publicans working together and using the new powers to tackle alcohol-related violence and disorder.

As the new licensing minister, are there any issues which particularly concern you about the new regime? ​

As with any new legislation, there are bound to be areas where improvements can be made. I hope to look at some of those over the coming months. Of course, we are currently undertaking the scrutiny council initiative and the review of the statutory guidance. Together with the independent fees review, these will give us plenty of issues to consider.

Given that licensees are already paying next year's fees, how soon will they know about the fee structure? ​

There's an independent review panel, headed up by Sir Les Elton, looking into the fee structure at present. They're due to provide their final report in the autumn. Any changes to the fees structure of the fees level would be subject to formal public consultation.

When will the renewal process and date be announced? ​

It is very important to remember that there is no renewal process under the new Act. There is an annual fee, which pays for the ongoing administration, inspection and enforcement of the legislation.

We are currently considering the recommendation of the independent panel's Interim Report that we should set a single annual fee date to be paid by all licence holders regardless of when they applied for their licence or had it issued.

Given that there is now more of a consensus around this issue than there was when we initially decided on the date, we are looking at how such a system could be implemented. Before reaching a decision, I would want to be confident that such a move would be of benefit and that it would not simply cause confusion.

In the meantime I'd advise all publicans to pay their fees on their due date, which is the anniversary of the grant of their licence.

When will licensees receive all of their premises licences? ​

Feedback from local authorities suggest that the vast majority of licences have now been issued. However, I know that, in some areas, there are still a number outstanding and that may well be down to local circumstances. Ultimately, this is a matter for the licensing authority.

The question of whether a premises could be prosecuted for operating without having been issued a licence is a matter for local enforcement authorities, such as the licensing authority and the police. But I expect common sense to prevail and enforcement agencies to focus on premises causing disorder rather than those who, for an administrative reason, have yet to receive their actual licence.

What will you do to bring about more consistent interpretation of the Act by individual licensing authorities and police forces? As an example, when can the trade expect to see some of them ceasing to demand the presence of the personal licence holder/DPS.

We'll be issuing supplementary guidance to clarify some issues, including the personal licence holder/DPS issue very soon. We have already issued our clear advice that a personal licence holder does not need to be on the premises at all times, provided that the sale of alcohol is properly authorised in their absence.

In the summer we will be publishing the full updated guidance - this will go out to a full public consultation. It is important to remember that the main aim of this legislation was to give more power to local authorities to make the decisions which best suit the needs of the people living, working and running pubs in their areas. As with any new legislation, there are also matters of interpretation which will ultimately be determined in the courts.

Can we reduce the cost of licensing? ​

That's something Sir Les' panel is looking into. The Act is completely self funding - local councils are not profiting from it.

Old alcohol licence fees were set too low to meet the administration costs, meaning it was unintentionally subsidised to the tune of £25million a year by the tax payer - the equivalent of around £140 for each licence holder. And public entertainment licences were often too high.

Following wide consultation, we set the fees at a level which we believed would meet the costs of the new regime. It would be wrong to increase or decrease fees without proper examination of the evidence. That is why we agreed to the Local Government Association's request to set up the Independent Fees Panel. The panel are currently collecting evidence from all licensing authorities so that they can consider and reach conclusions.

Red tape is a huge burden - can we reduce the complications of the forms and procedures? ​

Through the ongoing monitoring of the new legislation, we will look at whether there are areas where we can relieve indirect costs and regulatory burden, but without compromising the licensing objectives.

I hope licensees will at least welcome the fact that they don't have to fill in forms every three years for an alcohol licence or every twelve months for an entertainment licence as they used to and there is no need to attend a renewal hearing.

Could a home authority principle be created, so that pub companies do not have to prove due diligence, as a licence holder, every time an employee commits an offence under the new act? This would be much more efficient for all involved.

If the trade has suggestions about how a home authority principle might work, they should approach the local authority organisations such as LACORS. However, I think that local circumstances and the individual nature of a pub and its clientele (even one that is part of a pub chain) means that the home authority principle is unlikely to be suitable, particularly in relation to responsible retailing.

• The questions were gathered from the eight pubcos which took part in a Publican straw poll to assess how many pubs had received their premises licence. ​

Who is Shaun Woodward? ​

Before becoming minister for Creative Industries and Tourism, Shaun Woodward was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office. During his time there he oversaw plans to introduce a public smoking ban, which is due to become law next April.

Prior to this he was elected Labour MP for St Helens South in 2001 and re-elected in 2005.

Born in Bristol on October 26, 1958, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School and at Cambridge University, where he read English Literature.