ADZs: Supermarkets will be charged

Supermarkets will not be exempt from being charged under controversial alcohol disorder zones (ADZs), a Labour peer has insisted.

Speaking during a final debate on the regulations last night, Lord Bassam of Brighton said: "Some have asked whether supermarkets will be exempt from the charging mechanism.

"The short answer is no. If the availability of alcohol is one of the main reasons why people visit a supermarket during an ADZ service period, then it is right that it is liable to pay a charge."

The regulations were given the green light despite a last-ditch attempt by Lib Dem peer Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer to have them withdrawn and re-written again after criticism from a Lords merits committee.

MPs are expected to vote through the regulations today, giving the go-head for councils to implement ADZs.

The regulations state that premises where alcohol is not the primary reason for people visiting are exempt from paying the costs towards an ADZ.

But Baroness Miller expressed concern. "Somebody will go in for 12 cans of Special Brew and one bottle of vodka, but, thinking about it, they also buy a pint of milk and a newspaper," she said.

"They can claim, quite rightly, that they were going to have a coffee before they went out drinking, so it was the pint of milk that drew them into the supermarket.

"The supermarket can carry out a few surveys like that and quickly say that it should be exempt."

Baroness Miller earlier branded the merits committee "worse than useless" because its comments were being ignored. "I do not know what the merits committee could say more strongly to make the government rethink the regulations which they have got wrong."

It also emerged that the government has offered to report back in 12 months on the progress of ADZs.

But Lord Bassam of Brighton admitted he was unsure how many ADZs would be implemented in the first year.

"The regulatory impact assessment estimates that 30 areas will start the ADZ process in the first year, but it could be that all or none move towards full designation," he said.

He stressed that ADZs were a measure of "last resort" and must be reviewed every three months to see if it is still needed.