§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list for each licensing authority in England(a)the cost of and (b)the expenditure on liquor and entertainment licensing in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and for each prospective licensing authority and for England what estimate she has made of the annual (i) cost of and (ii) income from liquor and entertainment licensing after implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. [159876]
§ Mr. CabornNo figures are kept centrally for the annual cost of, and the annual expenditure on, liquor and entertainment licensing by local authority area. Local authorities have no current responsibility for liquor licensing and fee income goes to the courts. The new arrangements under the Licensing Act 2003 will integrate six existing licensing regimes: liquor, public entertainment, theatre, cinema, late night refreshment and night cafe licensing. We estimate that the income from all these regimes collectively is about £36.8 million annually for England and Wales, if renewal fee income is spread across the period of the renewal (which varies). We estimate that the actual cost of the six regimes to the courts and local authorities involved is approximately £69.3 million annually. Estimates of future expenditure under the new arrangements set out in the Licensing Act 2003 are currently being considered. No final decisions have yet been taken about fee levels and these will affect total income. Fee levels will be set so as to permit full recovery of the costs of administration, inspection and enforcement associated with the licensing regime.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the timetable is for the transfer of licensing powers from magistrates to local authorities; when she intends to publish national guidance relating to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement. [159989]
§ Mr. CabornWe will be laying the draft Guidance before both Houses for approval shortly. The start of 1501W the transitional period, during which existing licence holders may apply to the licensing authorities to convert their existing licences to new premises licences and club premises certificates, is expected to be approximately six months after the date on which Parliament approves the Guidance. During this period of six months, licensing authorities will prepare and publish their statements of licensing policy. The transitional period is expected to last for nine months and, as a result, the Licensing Act is expected to be fully implemented by mid 2005.
£ million Nature of scheme PFI credits allocated Recipient authorities Community facilities (as part of wider schools projects, e.g. leisure facilities, theatre, library) 126.594 Sheffield borough council, Liverpool City council, Telford and Wrekin borough council, Croydon (London borough), South Tyneside council Sports/Leisure 60.097 Brent council, Wolverhampton City council, Redbridge (London borough), Shepway district council, Rotherham borough council Libraries/Archives 67.277 Oldham borough council, Cambridgeshire district council, Newcastle City council, Liverpool City council, Rochdale borough council Theatre 9.8 Bournemouth borough council Total 2163.768 16 PFI schemes 1All joint funded with DfES. 2This figure is higher than £150 million PFI credits allocated within the 2003–04 to 2005–06 spending review as some additional credits were rolled over from the previous financial year. These were not allocated to one scheme in particular but were added to the overall sum available for allocation to new schemes during the 2003–04 to 2005–06 spending review.