Another city council consults on whether to keep or vary Late Night Levy

Liverpool City Council is to hold a non-statutory consultation on whether or not its Late Night Levy should continue to be in place or if it should be amended.

The council introduced a levy in Liverpool in April 2017, so that holders of premises licences or club premises certificates that supply alcohol between 00:00 and 06:00 on one or more days in a year must pay a levy.

The amount of the levy is set by the government and is a yearly amount between £299 and £4,440 depending on the rateable value of the premises and their actual use.

The levy was introduced under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

In November 2021, the council's Licensing and Gambling Committee decided to go out to consultation to seek views on whether or not the levy should continue or if various amendments should be made.

The consultation, which runs until 28 October 2022, said examples of possible amendments to the levy were;

• Reducing the late night supply period (currently the maximum period allowed of midnight to 06:00 hours).
• Adding to or reducing the current categories of exemptions (currently the 'New Year's Day' and the 'Business Improvement District' exemptions).

The consultation is being managed by Night Time Economy Solutions Ltd “to ensure a fair and just process”, the council said.

“They will seek opinions from stakeholders, the trade, residents associations, charities, responsible authorities, local councillors and MPs on whether the levy should continue or, if amendments are to be made, what it should look like going forward.”

The council said the results of the non-statutory consultation would help to inform the making of any formal proposal to cease or vary the levy with effect from 1 April 2023, which will then be subject to a further statutory consultation process prior to any final decision being made.

Nottingham City Council recently said its late night levy on licensed premises will be revoked from the end of this month “in a bid to ease financial pressure on local businesses”.