Councils steering clear of late night levies, EMROs for now: research

The vast majority of councils are not looking to introduce a late night levy or early morning restriction order in the near future, research has suggested.

A survey of 363 councils conducted by law firm John Gaunt & Partners found that 78% had no plans for a levy, while 77% were not looking to introduce an EMRO.

John Gaunt & Partners said: “Some confirmed this was after discussion with the licensing committee and others was just a distinct ‘no’.

“A common trend was that a licensing policy review would be undertaken before any decision was made. This is supported by a legal view that such a policy review is a necessary pre-requisite.”

Just 8% of councils stated that an EMRO was a possibility, that they were doing further research on the benefits and would put it forward to the committee whether they will go to a formal consultation.

Reasons given for not introducing EMROs included that there were insufficient problems to warrant such action and fears that the orders would simply move the problems elsewhere.

John Gaunt & Partners reported that a range of reasons were also given for not implementing late night levies, including the administrative burden it would place on the authority or that the council was taking a watching brief. 

Some councils expressed the view that the levy could act as an additional tax, causing further premises to close. Only 7% suggested that introduction of the levy was possible.

The results of the survey were published a week after Milton Keynes launched a consultation on a late night levy. The council made the move after receiving a request from Thames Valley Police.

Commenting on the results, John Gaunt & Partners said: “Self-evidently the majority of councils have these very much on the back burner, whereas we have a few councils ‘path finding’ their way forward. How these proposals fare will or may determine the approach of other councils going forward.”