Late Night Levies - changes and updated guidance

In 2012, the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 introduced the late night levy to allow licensing authorities to charge a levy to premises licence holders selling alcohol in their area between midnight and 6am. Subsequently, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 made several changes to the levy that came into effect this month. These changes include:

• allowing licensing authorities the power to apply the levy to late night refreshment premises to assist with the cost of policing the night time economy;
• allowing local authorities to target the levy in smaller geographical areas where the night time economy places demand on policing, rather than having to implement it across the entirety of their area;
• permitting PCCs the right to formally request that a licensing authority consult on implementing a levy; and
• requiring licensing authorities to publish information about how the revenue raised from the levy is spent.

Updated Guidance issued by the Home Office can be found here

To date only a handful of licensing authorities ever took up the original levy powers, with a number (such as Cheltenham and Nottingham) having since abolished them. It remains to be seen whether there will be any appetite to consider levies under the new powers but we will keep you informed of any consultations to do so.