Late Night Levy Consultation 2021

Overview

Have your say on proposals to reduce Late Night Levy fees for businesses that gain the Hackney Nights Accreditation.

The Late Night Levy was introduced in November 2017 and requires all licensed premises that sell alcohol between midnight and 6 am to pay the levy.
Local evidence at the time showed a clear correlation between the locations of late night licensed premises and incidents involving robbery, violence and theft.  The levy was introduced to raise funds for additional activities to prevent crime and disorder and to support the sustainability of nighttime economy businesses in the borough.

The levy is collected by the Council, but at least 70% of any net revenue collected must be paid to the police. It’s then used as a contribution to the policing and control of late night alcohol related crime and disorder. The remaining 30% is used by the Council to support further night time economy safety initiatives.

Since the introduction of the levy the funds have supported: 

• Additional policing at the weekends
• Additional Enforcement officer activity at the weekends
• Hackney Nights Online Portal and training for frontline Night Time Economy Staff
• CCTV
• Safety public awareness campaigns, such as the Reframe the Night campaign on Women’s Safety

Hackney Council is in the process of developing a new accreditation scheme through the levy-funded Hackney Nights safety initiative which will ask licensed premises to commit to a series of essential and additional themes and benchmarks in order to gain the Hackney Nights accreditation. These themes would be, but not limited to, the following:

Coronavirus Safety
Venues should be compliant with the latest regulations and have an up to date risk assessment that has been reviewed and approved by the Council. 

Community
Venues would be encouraged to play a more active role in their local communities by participating in local community meetings and employing local staff and apprentices. They would also be expected to promote inclusivity and accessibility in night time spaces.

Education and Training
Venues would be expected to participate in all training programs offered by Hackney Nights via the portal. Training will cover subjects like safety, vulnerability, safeguarding, alcohol sales and responsibilities, counter-terrorism, substance misuse, hate crime and women’s safety. These themes would be expected to expand over time.

Crime Prevention   

Venues would be required to implement and enforce internal policies in regards to safety, including preventing nuisance, drug use, and theft.

Health and Wellbeing
Staff should have access to resources that enable them to refer vulnerable individuals and also promote healthy working environments. This could include a member of staff trained as a mental health champion and offering healthy alternatives at the venue including low/no alcohol beverages and healthy menu options. 

Sustainability
Accredited premises would need to ensure that they commit to greener practices and take steps to actively reduce their environmental impact.

The Hackney Nights accreditation scheme would be under constant review and changes or amendments would be reflected annually. Businesses would be asked to review their activities annually to ensure they still meet the requirements.

Why your views matter

Under The Late Night Levy (Expenses Exemptions and Reductions) Regulations 2012, a reduction in fees can only be agreed in a limited set of circumstances and must be approved by the relevant licensing authority. Regulation 5 sets out the instances in which levy payers could be eligible for a reduction in their fees and this includes businesses that are members of a relevant best practice scheme.

The Licensing Service has a statutory duty to perform a consultation before implementing a reduction towards those premises that adhere to a best practice scheme.

What are we proposing?
It is our proposal that Late Night Levy fee payers who gain the new Hackney Nights Accreditation will be able to benefit from a 30% reduction in fees in recognition of the positive contribution their accredited activities will have on the prevention of crime, disorder and social impact on the borough.

Have your say

It’s important that all businesses, residents and visitors have an opportunity to comment on how the Late Night Levy revenue is shaped and spent in the borough. We’d like to hear your views on our proposals: