Licensing Act 2003 "too feeble" to deal with country's alcohol problems: MPs
MPs derided the licensing and enforcement regime for alcohol as “feeble” this week and claimed that the drinks industry and supermarkets hold greater power over the government’s alcohol policies than expert health professionals.
The health select committee called for a range of steps to be taken, including:
- The introduction of minimum pricing
- A rise in the duty on spirits and industrial white cider
- Tighter and totally independent regulation of alcohol promotion
- Vastly improved alcohol treatment services
- A mandatory labelling scheme for alcoholic drinks.
On the Licensing Act 2003, the committee said: ““The DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) has shown extraordinary naivety in believing the Act would bring about ‘civilised café culture’. In addition the Act has failed to enable the local population to exercise adequate control of a licensing and enforcement regime which has been too feeble to deal with the problems it has faced.”
The report added that the principle of establishing democratic control of licensing had not been realised, with the regulations governing licensing giving licensing authorities and local communities too little control over either issuing or revoking licences. Research by accountancy firm KPMG suggested that the alcohol industry’s voluntary code had failed.
The MPs said they supported the introduction through the Policing and Crime Act 2009 of a mandatory code and other measures such as making it easier to review licences. Mandatory conditions should be introduced as a matter of urgency, they argued.
The committee also expressed concern that s.141 of the Licensing Act, which creates the offences of selling alcohol to a person who is drunk, is effectively not enforced. “We note the police and Home Office’s preference for partnerships and training, but do not consider these actions should be an excuse for not enforcing a law which could make a significant difference to alcohol-related crime and disorder,” the report said.
The government needs to take additional measures above and beyond the improvements in the Policing and Crime Act 2009 to overcome the difficulties local authorities have in restricting and revoking licences, it added.
Committee chairman Kevin Barron MP said: “The facts about alcohol misuse are shocking. Successive governments have failed to tackle the problem and it is now time for bold government. Even small reductions in the number of people misusing alcohol could save the NHS millions.”
