A key committee of MPs has said critics of 24-hour drinking are "missing the point".

In a report released on Tuesday the Commons home affairs committee claimed other factors are leading to city centre violence and disorder.

The cross-party group argued that government plans to liberalise licensing laws, which have been widely attacked by the media and Opposition, have not yet taken effect but alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour is already an issue for local residents and police across the country.

The report pointed to poor town planning and competition among pubs and clubs to provide large quantities of cheap drinks as bigger concerns.

"The attention on 24-hour licensing misses the point - problems of disorder are occurring now," committee chairman John Denham said.

"Effective enforcement, mandatory contributions from pubs and super-clubs and minimum pricing policies all have a role to play.

"But the underlying problem is of too many people drinking heavily in small geographical areas and the focus of longer term policy should be on proper city planning with diverse activities supported by adequate transport and other facilities."

Denham said that far from seeking to encourage "binge drinking" by relaxing the law, ministers are demonstrating a "real commitment" to the issue by reforming the law.

This would allow the police to take action against problem premises and charge bigger establishments more.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said that while the night time economy could be a "huge money-spinner" there were also knock-on effects to be considered.

"The committee is right to suggest the use of the 'polluter pays' principle," he added.

"Big night-time venues should make an up-front contribution to the costs of maintaining public safety."

Nuisance children

The report also rejected claims that the government's policies unfairly penalise children.

The balance between prevention and enforcement in the government's anti-social behaviour strategy is about right, said the MPs.

But the report also concluded that the strategy is being undermined by different philosophies, methods and tactics amongst key players.

It calls for social services departments and others to reconsider whether by attaching greater importance to tackling anti-social behaviour, they could actually achieve more in relation to perpetrators with support needs than they are doing at present.

"Our concern is that some organisations are rejecting the current anti-social behaviour strategy as too punitive, but foregoing the chance to influence how this strategy is carried out at local level," said Denham.

Crime spin

Richard Garside, director of the Crime and Society Foundation, said that the report was "a sharp riposte to the government's spin that it knows the extent of so-called anti-social behaviour, and has the tools to deal with it".

"After six years of legislation the report makes clear that evidence about anti-social behaviour is thin and the effectiveness of government strategies is unproven," he said.

"Given this lack of evidence, the committee's endorsement of the government's approach is surprising.

"In effect the committee chooses to believe professionals who support current policy and criticise those who have inconvenient concerns about it."

And Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said that prevention and welfare "should be the only factors when deciding how to respond to children who misbehave".

"We fear that current legislation has the effect of widening the net of the criminal justice system, by criminalising naughty children and their parents, the mentally ill and those in social housing," she added.

"Anti-social behaviour legislation relies on a low burden of proof.  It does not rely on an objective test of behaviour but on the reaction to that behaviour by others."