Liverpool Council “can’t afford” to lose the “cold hard cash” it generates from a tax placed on its late night economy, city councillors have concluded.
Almost six years ago, the local authority introduced a late night levy on businesses across the city providing alcohol after midnight. The fee is paid by holders of premises licences, or club premises certificates, serving drinks from midnight until 6am on one or more days in a year.
A consultation on the future of the scheme, which has raised around £1.5m in the last five years, was mooted back in November 2021 and formally adopted in October last year by the council’s licensing and gambling committee. Following the public engagement exercise, it had been recommended Liverpool Council do away with the clubland tax but the financial squeeze being put on the city’s budgets have encouraged committee members to hold steady for now.
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A report by Night Time Economy Solutions provided an overview of how the 150 respondents to the consultations perceived the levy with 45% declaring they took a negative view. On whether they felt it was achieving its objectives - such as the costs of policing and other arrangements for the reduction or prevention of crime and disorder - 46% said they disagreed.
Andrew Blackmore, Liverpool Council operations manager, licensing, events and enforcement, told members of the £1.5m raised through the levy, around £1m went to Merseyside Police while the remainder was given to the city council. Members of the city’s business improvement district (BID) do not contribute to the levy, Mr Blackmore added.
Alicia Souter, of Night Time Economy Solutions, said some respondents consider the levy an “added bill” and “inappropriate” due to the cost of living crisis. She said the report recommended scrapping the fee, based on its findings.
Committee members disagreed, as Cllr Steve Munby said the response was a “tiny fraction” of the economy and any approach had to be balanced. He described the proposal of removing the levy as “all a bit Liz Truss” as budgets in the public sector were “under enormous pressure” and the levy represented a small amount of money acting as a public good.
Cllr Munby said: “How can we ask people to pay more Council Tax and the hospitality sector not to contribute? It’s unconscionable to consider scrapping it.” He also cited the impending Eurovision Song Contest in May as a “massive, massive bonus for the industry.”
Cllr Alfie Hincks said the city council found itself in a catch-22 situation, adding the levy represented an important part of the budget and something it “can’t afford to scrap” but there needed to be better engagement with stakeholders. Cllr Liam Robinson, cabinet member for finance, said he was sceptical about scrapping the levy owing to the “cold hard cash” element of the plans.
He said the impact of doing away with the scheme would fall onto wider public sector budgets but would not object to improvements to the levy in future. Cllr William Shortall said he felt the levy needed to remain as it was for at least another 12 months as the economy recovers from the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
He added: “I think the levy is actually cheap for what it is.” Mr Blackmore added it was expected membership of the city’s BID was growing and “income is going to come down anyway” if councillors sought to retain the scheme. Chair Cllr Christine Banks said she would have preferred more engagement from Merseyside Police over the consultation and said she would be writing to Emily Spurrell, Merseyside police and crime commissioner accordingly.
Councillors on the committee agreed to retain the late night levy, meaning it will continue to be charged.
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