Late Night Levy Consultation

Overview

Hackney Council and Hackney Police are asking residents and businesses what they think of proposals to introduce a late night levy on premises serving alcohol between midnight and 6am, to help fund the cost of community safety and policing.

Hackney currently has 399 premises licensed to sell alcohol between midnight and 6am.

The Council wants to help support and sustain the borough's nighlife - which has made a valuable contribution to wider cultural and economic growth  - however, it has also had an impact on public services, with increased levels of anti-social behavior, crime, noise nuisance and litter.

Why your views matter

The levy is expected to raise about £362,000 per year which would go towards the cost of managing the late-night economy, including a contribution towards the £1.4 million cost of policing and community safety. 

The levy is set ata national level by the government based on the premises' rateable value.  In Hackney that would vary from £299 to £1,259 per year. 

Around 40 businesses already take part in a voluntary scheme, raising around £56,000 per year. The voluntary levy has helped to fund additional patrols by community safety wardens on Friday and saturday nights in Dalston and Shoreditch.

How does the LNL work?

• The LNL is set by central governmnent and collected alongside the annual licence fee.

• The LNL is based on the non-domestic rateable value, also set by central government. All premises licensed to sell alcohol between midnight and 6am must pay the amounts that are set out in Table 1.

• The proposed LNL will apply to all venues holding a premises licence or club premises certificate that permits the sale of alcohol between midnight and 6am on one or more days in any year even if the full licensable hours are not used. It will apply to premises supplying alcohol for consumption on and off the premises.

• If the LNL is introduced, licensees have a right to make an application to vary their licence so that the premises will not be subject to the LNL. They can alter the days or hours of operation free of charge so long as this is done before the LNL is in place.

• The levy is paid to the Council, but a key element of the LNL is the requirement that ‘a specified proportion’ of at least 70% of any net revenue collected by the Council must be paid to the Police.

• If the LNL is introduced, a local management board would be established which would be responsible for overseeing how the money raised from the LNL is spent. This could include representatives from licensed premises liable to pay the levy. The Council is in discussions with the Police to establish exactly how this could work. The eventual percentage allocation and the use of the Police’s income share will be agreed in negotiations with the Metropolitan Police and Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

• The LNL cannot apply to Temporary Event Notices.

Please read the consultation summary information in the related documents section before completing the questionnaire.