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Camden Council calls on Government to payback £2.9 million of taxpayers money

17/11/06

Camden Council is calling on the Government to pay back more than £2.9 million of taxpayers' money used to foot the bill for bringing in new licensing powers.

Since the Government's new Licensing Act 2003 came into force, councils have been responsible for the administration and enforcement of licensing powers.

With the 1st anniversary (Nov 24) looming, Camden Council is eagerly awaiting the results of an independent review into fees that is looking into claims Government set them too low.

Since taking on the new powers the council has been forced to make up the shortfall, despite assurances the new licensing regime would be subject to 'full cost recovery'.

The results of the Fees Review are expected in the next few weeks.

From the outset the council has lobbied for Licensing Fees to be increased.

Cllr Mike Greene, Executive Member for Environment, said: "Because of the number and nature of licensed premises in the borough, the current fee levels are causing Camden huge problems. The government assured us that councils would be able to recover costs and it is now time they made good on that commitment. It is completely unacceptable that Camden's taxpayers should be expected to pick up this huge bill."

Leader of the Council Keith Moffitt said: "We made sure systems were firmly in place to manage the new powers efficiently. However because Government released guidelines so late in the day, and due to tight and inflexible deadlines, it has all had an adverse affect on costs causing them to increase significantly."

The council also wants to be able to initiate reviews of licenses, for example review an off-licence that the council believes is creating anti-social behaviour.

The council also wants Government to look into parts of its policy, in particular introducing zoning. This means areas known for having crime and disorder problems, can have this taken into consideration when somebody in that zone applies for a licence.



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Camden Council

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