ADZs delay drags on

The Home Office has been forced to backtrack on its promise that alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) would be in place this month.

A spokeswoman told thepublican.com that it was now "looking unlikely" that the controversial measures would be available to councils before Friday.

The Home Office had previously insisted the scheme would be available in January.

The final regulations covering ADZs are still due to be debated in Parliament where they will be given the green light by Lords and MPs.

But no date has yet been set for the debates, the spokeswoman confirmed.

It comes in the wake of a Lords select committee report which last week branded the measures as "bureaucratic" and questioned whether they are necessary.

As part of the scheme pubs in ADZs will be expected to pay up to £100 a week for extra police resources to tackle alcohol-related crime.

Trade leaders have been highly critical of ADZs and point to Business Improvement Districts as a fairer alternative. Fury has also been sparked by the fact that the majority of off-trade premises would be exempt from paying.

But the Home Office spokeswoman reiterated that ADZs were a last resort.

She said: "ADZs are designed to provide a short period of targeted activity in a very small number of areas to clean up the alcohol related problems which blight the lives of local residents.

"They are just one of a range of tools and powers which we have given to police and local authorities to clamp down on alcohol related violence and anti-social behaviour and its causes, and are a measure of last resort."