The Home Office opened its consultation on enabling targeted, local alternatives to personal licences to sell alcohol today. In a written ministerial statement to Parliament, The Minister of State for Crime Prevention (Jeremy Browne) explained that the Government believed the current system to “not always be the most targeted and proportionate way to ensure alcohol is sold responsibly”.
Under the Home Office’s proposal, personal licences would be replaced with conditions applied locally to premises licences by licensing authorities that could require staff to be trained or have their criminal records checked.
The Home Office estimates that if implemented, the new proposal could save businesses £10 million a year. This consultation invites all stakeholders – including licensing authorities, the licensed trade, police officers and the general public – to share their views on whether it will prove a cost-effective method of maintaining appropriate safeguards against crime and disorder at licensed premises.
The consultation will end on 7 November 2013. A copy of the document and the Impact Assessment is available to view on the Home Office website.