Off-trade will face ADZ charges
Shops and supermarkets are more likely to face some alcohol disorder zone (ADZ) charges after new guides on the controversial proposal were made public today.
But the updated draft regulations on ADZs are a blow to venues that have been accredited by a Best Bar None (BBN) or similar scheme - their discounts on ADZ payments have fallen from up to 100% to up to 90%.
The document also leaves out specific reference to BBN.
ADZs will allow councils and police to force licensed premises in a designated area to pay a levy.
An ADZ can be implemented if venues fail to introduce changes, set out in an "action plan", eight weeks after the plan's publication.
Venues that are "not open at any point during the service period" were exempted from charges during the eight-week period of the action plan under the previous draft regulations published last year.
Off trade charges
This clause is missing from the new regs, meaning many shops and supermarkets that would have avoided payment during the period of the action plan will now have to cough up.
However, it is likely that many off-trade venues will still avoid charges once an ADZ is introduced.
The statement on exemptions from charges has not changed in the updated regulations, which say exemptions will be granted for venues where "the availability of alcohol is not the main reason, or one of the main reasons, why individuals enter or remain on those premises".
The updated regs were laid before Parliament on 8 January but only released into the public domain today.
A Home Office spokesman said he expected the document to be debated in the Commons and the Lords "towards the end of the month" - councils will be able to push for ADZs once they have been approved by both Houses.
The spokesman expressed confidence that ADZs will be made law this month. "That's what we are hoping for," he said.
