Westminster council slams mandatory code

Government plans to restrict how licensees sell alcohol are unnecessary and could be unworkable, according to a senior Westminster Council official.

The planned alcohol retailing code will see a series of mandatory conditions placed on all alcohol retailers, including curbs on drinks deals such as all-inclusives, operating Challenge 21 and offering smaller drinks measures. Councils could also attach more stringent conditions to multiple venues in alcohol hotspots.

Speaking to council officers and others at a Local Government Association conference today, Westminster's head of legal services Peter Large questioned whether the new powers would have any affect.

"Aren't there things that we can do about [unruly premises] at the moment?" he said. "I think there are — the powers under the 2003 [Licensing] Act allow us to review licences of any premises, whether or not they are breaching any conditions.

"If premises are causing a nuisance or crime and disorder, we can take a review to address these problems."

Large said councils "rarely if ever" take reviews against premises specifically for irresponsible drinks promotions.

He also pointed out that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) guidance on the Act seems to contradict the mandatory code proposal from the Home Office. The guidance outlaws blanket conditions and says moves to control prices risks breaking competition law.

"Fundamentally the problem is in central Government.

"The DCMS is going off in one direction and the Home Office is going off in another direction and there's no meeting in the middle. It would be much better to see a joined-up approach."

Large added: "I certainly think there are problems with how the existing legislation works. I query whether these mandatory conditions are going to make any difference to these problems."

Laughable plan​

Another representative from the London Borough of Lambeth questioned why pubs, not supermarkets, are the focus of the mandatory code.

"I do wonder if the Government has got the wrong target here. The problem is with the off-licences and supermarkets selling very cheap alcohol to anyone who turns up."

British Beer and Pub Association director of pubs and leisure Martin Rawlings attacked the mandatory code at length, accusing the Government of devising it "just to look good".

There are "plenty of powers" in the Licensing Act to target problem premises, he said. It was "laughable" that under the plan, responsible agencies with little connection to licensing would have to verify licensees' mandatory training proposals.

"What is the planning office going to know about Challenge 21?" he asked. "It's just ridiculous."

Home Office official Mandie Campbell, director of the drugs and alcohol directorate at the Government department, stressed that the final conditions have not been decided upon. "This is very much about a process of consultation," she added.

The conference in London focused on the Policing and Crime Bill, which includes the proposal for the mandatory code.