James Wilmore: Is the late-night levy just ADZs in disguise?

Is the coalition's much-vaunted late-night levy turning out to be the new alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) in disguise?

Having previously touched on this idea, the evidence is mounting that the answer to this question is 'yes'.

For those you not familiar with the saga that was ADZs, here's a quick recap.

The last Labour government decided it wanted to adopt a polluter pays approach to tackling the problem of alcohol-related disorder. Under the plans, councils could designate a trouble-spot an ADZ, meaning pubs and bars would have to pay £100 a week to cover the costs of extra policing.

But, there was one small snag. Councils didn't like the idea of ADZs, pointing out it would be a green light to troublemakers to come to a designated zone.

So, guess what? In July 2009, a year into the plans, it emerged not one single council had introduced an ADZ.

At the time the Tories criticised the idea. Fast forward to now and the collation has vowed to scrap ADZs.

But the debate around their replacement idea, the late-night levy, is proving eerily familiar. As with ADZs, councils will be able to decide if they want the levy to operate.

However, it seems council leaders aren't convinced it will be worthwhile. Last week a senior local government figure questioned whether the levy will have any effect on pubs' behaviour, but also argued it hadn't been set high enough for councils to benefit.

Dig deeper into the Local Government Association's written evidence to the parliamentary committee looking at the plans, and it states:

"Analysis of the detail behind the late-night levy reveals that it is highly bureaucratic and administratively expensive, meaning it will only be worthwhile for a minority of councils (those with a large number of late night premises in their area)." ​

The LGA also complains the bulk of the levy - 70 per cent - will be payable to the police.

Instead the LGA argues for a "fully flexible locally-set licence fee framework" to allow councils to "recover all costs associated with licensed premises".

Meanwhile, in an earlier evidence session day a senior police officer also raised doubts about the levy. Chief Inspector Chris Sims of West Midlands Police told MPs:

"I always think that there is some difficulty in charging for service in general and about how a charge is administered, what expectations it generates and where it does or does not fall. There are a whole series of businesses operating. Do we charge Tesco for dealing with a shoplifter or do we not? I think it becomes very difficult, and you would have to find real clarity in making exceptions." ​

Exemptions could be a key issue as well, as the Bill suggests pubs part of schemes such as Best Bar None could get a discount. Meanwhile, if supermarkets get caught by the levy, no doubt their lawyers will be straight on the case.

The late-night levy is a sure thing to be in the final Act that's passed as law. But don't rule out a Groundhog Day scenario further down the line as councils think twice about the worth of a levy. Watch this space.