Home Office in tougher stance on licensing authorities imposing CCTV on pubs

Licensing authorities will no longer be able to make CCTV a legal condition of every pub licence as a matter of course, under revised guidance issued by the Government this month.

The changes come after concern at the practice was expressed by both pub landlords and the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The Home Office said the principle of surveillance by consent was at the heart of the revised Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.

The code of practice, which can be viewed here, covers:

• Overview and guiding principles;
• The development or use of surveillance camera systems;
• The use or processing of images or other information obtained by virtue of such systems; and
• The Surveillance Camera Commissioner.

Paragraph 1.15 of the code says: “When a relevant authority has licensing functions and considers the use of surveillance camera systems as part of the conditions attached to a licence or certificate, it must in particular have regard to guiding principle one in this code. Any proposed imposition of a blanket requirement to attach surveillance camera conditions as part of the conditions attached to a licence or certificate is likely to give rise to concerns about the proportionality of such an approach and will require an appropriately strong justification and must be kept under regular review.

“Applications in relation to licensed premises must take into account the circumstances surrounding that application and whether a requirement to have a surveillance camera system is appropriate in that particular case. For example, it is unlikely that a trouble-free community pub would present a pressing need such that a surveillance camera condition would be justified. In such circumstances where a licence or certificate is granted subject to surveillance camera system conditions, the consideration of all other guiding principles in this code is a matter for the licensee as the system operator.”

Principle 1 of the 12 guiding principles reads: “Use of a surveillance camera system must always be for a specified purpose which is in pursuit of a legitimate aim and necessary to meet an identified pressing need.”

The draft code has meanwhile also been amended to make clear that it does cover the use of surveillance camera systems as part of the civil enforcement of parking and moving traffic contraventions.

It added that where there were public concerns that surveillance cameras were being used for revenue generation, the code provided a further avenue through which a local authority could be held to account.

The code has been laid before Parliament for approval under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Community Pubs Minister Brandon Lewis said: “CCTV has a role to play in stopping and deterring crime in anti-social behaviour hotspots. But well-run community pubs that don’t have a public order problem shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush.

“The public deserves to have a pint in peace in a community pub without being snooped on. This government has called time on Big Brother’s secret, intrusive and costly rules that has forced pub landlords to pay to install CCTV where it was not needed. The use of surveillance cameras should only be used if it is necessary and where it has public support."