Police and local authorities have been urged to show restraint in the way they use the enormous new powers being given to them when the Police & Social Responsibility Bill becomes law.
BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) chief executive Neil Robertson likened the new controls provided by the Bill to "swapping an armoured car with a chieftain tank".
Robertson told the Best Bar None (BBN) northern conference in Leeds that the acid test was how police and councils used the powerful armoury of weapons the new legislation provided.
"It is how these weapons are used that is important. It's all about the weapons being kept in reserve until you feel the need to use them.
"I do not feel these new powers are necessarily designed to be used in a
free-for-all manner," he told delegates who included a large contingent of police and council licensing officers.
The introduction of a late-night levy charge on premises and restrictions on late-night opening through Early Morning Restriction Orders are two sections of the Bill causing particular concern.
Robertson, who is also chief executive of BBN, added: "The Government is concerned that there is a problem with alcohol consumption in the UK, but the Bill only appears to address the supply part of the industry — personal responsibility has to come into it."
He said the licensed trade felt it was being "got at" through the Bill.
"The sticks are there, but they do not necessarily have to be used and I feel many local authorities will not use them. It's about partnership not enforcement," he suggested.
Earlier Inspector Mark Halton, former head of Westminster Police licensing and now seconded to the Home Office, hinted some premises might be exempted from the late-night levy proposals. Hotels and restaurants have been identified as venues which could escape the charges. It is also possible premises with Best Bar None accreditation might receive a discount if levy charges are imposed in their areas.
But he stressed that nothing had been rubber-stamped at this stage.