Off-trade might escape ADZ levies
Confusion surrounds the question of whether supermarkets will be forced to pay charges in an alcohol disorder zone (ADZ).
ADZs will allow councils and police to force licensed premises in a designated area to pay a levy. New draft regulations say exemptions will be granted where "availability of alcohol is not the main reason why individuals enter or remain on those premises".
This prompted British Beer & Pub Association boss Rob Hayward to write to every MP slating the fact that supermarkets and other licensed shops "will escape having to make any financial contribution to an ADZ". Hayward said he was opposed to ADZs but if they did appear there must be "a level playing field".
MA legal editor Peter Coulson highlighted the draft guidance on ADZs that says off-trade premises will be subject to a "principal use test".
The guidance promises a "rebuttable presumption" that sales during the allocated time of the ADZ "will be mainly in relation to alcohol and they are liable to pay the charge".
Coulson said: "The view of the Government is that supermarkets are not exempt unless they can prove that during the ADZ period the proportion of alcohol sales is not higher than non-alcohol sales."
Meanwhile, it appears off-trade premises will not escape charges in the eight-week "action plan" period before a full ADZ is implemented.
Venues "not open at any point during the service period" were exempted from charges in the action-plan period in earlier draft regulations. This clause is missing from the updated document.
A Home Office spokesman said he expected the updated regulations to be debated in the Commons and the Lords "towards the end of the month". He expressed confidence ADZs will be made law.
this month. "That's what we are hoping for," he said.
BEda: so much for government's 'last resort'
Councils are more likely to press for ADZs because the Government has not stressed enough that the proposals are a "last resort".
That is the fear of Bar Entertainment & Dance Association executive director Paul Smith, who slammed the Government for the wording of the updated draft regulations.
Smith said: "There were reasons why the Government was saying to us, 'let's have checks and balances in place, and ADZs will be only used as a last resort'.
"In the last version [of the draft regulations, released last year] I'd say this was included 15 times. It's buried now. That's really worrying.
"If they genuinely wanted it to be a last resort, it would be in there and spelt out. If it's not spelt out as a last resort we will find more local authorities will be looking to use them."
BBN discount blow
The new draft regulations 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 updated document also leaves out specific reference to BBN.
