Licensing Act 2003 and the effects of alcohol

The LGA and LACORS commissioned research to increase understanding of the effects of the Licensing Act on local authorities, primary care trusts and police authorities in England and Wales. It augments the evaluation of the impact of the Act recently published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The specific objectives of the research were to:

• describe the effect of the Licensing Act on licensing authorities and explore modifications to the way in which it is implemented;
• describe the effect of the Licensing Act on primary care trusts’ (PCTs)/casualty departments’ workloads and any associated increased pressure on resources;
• describe the effect of the Licensing Act on police authorities and any associated increased pressure on resources;
• explore local authorities’ anticipated use of Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs).

Some of the main findings are summarised below:

• those working within primary care trusts were most likely to have perceived an increase in alcohol related incidents since the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 (29%), compared with 10% of police authorities and 4% of local authorities;
• since the Act, almost three quarters of those working within PCTs and police authorities (73% and 70% respectively) feel they are working more closely with local authorities on licensing and alcohol matters;
• almost all local authority respondents felt that the Licensing Act 2003 has increased pressure on resources (94%) and would like it implemented on a full-cost recovery basis (94%);
• a third of local authority respondents anticipated using alcohol disorder zones, a third did not and a third were not yet sure.

Information on licensing authorities' finances has also been updated in order to:

• inform LGA's and LACORS's continued lobbying for full repayment of the £97 million they estimated as the funding gap local authorities faced from implementation of the Licensing Act 2003; and
• support their position that individual authorities should be allowed to recover actual costs through fees.

The survey found that:

• licensing authorities had an estimated total deficit of £21.6m over 2007/8, of which a half (£10.8m) was in London;
• of the 182 respondents, 138 were in deficit, 9 were neutral and 35 had a surplus. 

Licensing Act 2003 and effects of alcohol - Report (PDF, 28 pages, 314KB)

Licensing Finance Survey 2008 - Report (PDF, 3 pages, 197KB)

Contact: stephen.richards@lga.gov.uk 

Telephone: 020 7664 3256