Pubs and bars responsible for filling the streets with drunken revellers could be forced to pay back financially to the public, according to a report by a national newspaper.
The new proposal is the coalition Government’s first step towards its pledge to combat binge-drinking and turn around the 24-hour drinking laws.
The money taken from the pubs and bars will be given to local councils to plough into initiatives such as extra policing.
Penalties
It is thought the penalties could run into thousands of pounds and would act as a warning to pubs to change their ways.
The plan, which will be included in a new Bill later this year, will give councils the power to impose a late night opening charge on pubs and bars.
A charge would be added to the annual license fee of pubs and bars wishing to stay open beyond midnight.
Safety
Home Office minister James Brokenshire, who is reviewing the controversial Licensing Act, said he wanted a return to the days of responsible drinking.
He told the Daily Mail: “I want to see someone being able to think they can go to the town centre and have a swift pint without fearing it is unsafe.
“I want vibrant strong communities where people are going out and having one or two drinks. I want the good old British pub.”
Violence
According to a national newspaper, the new proposal comes after a Home Office report, compiled by the last Government, revealed that 47 per cent of all violent crimes were cited as alcohol-related by victims.
Last year there were 973,000 violent attacks where the offender was under the influence of alcohol.
The Daily Mail reports that Labour had come up with plans to create Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs) whereby bars in problem hotspots would be charged up to £100 each to fund extra police, but no ADZs have been established.
Disorder
The new Home Secretary, Theresa May, has ordered a “complete review” of the nation’s disastrous 24-hour drinking laws in a bid to curb binge-drinking.
Last month a top judge blasted Britain’s binge drinking culture, blaming it for the rise of violence plaguing our communities.
“Ordinary, decent people” have been left too scared to walk the streets at night because of alcohol-fuelled yobs, warned District Judge Alan Berg.
Plague
Judge Berg, speaking after jailing a female student who he labelled a “drunken barbarian”, raised concern that young people, especially women, were now going out with the “sole purpose of getting hopelessly drunk”.
He said: “I don’t see why ordinary decent people should be deprived of the pleasure of walking safely without feeling intimidated, without having to witness raucous behaviour, alcohol-fuelled yobs at night time in city centres.”
In the same month another top judge blasted 24-hour licensing laws after sentencing yet another yob for a late night drunken brawl.
Drunken
Judge Christopher Harvey Clark QC called for a review of the laws after becoming frustrated at dealing with cases of drunken violence “almost on a daily basis”.
Judge Harvey Clark, speaking after sentencing a 31-year-old former soldier from Bournemouth for a drunken brawl, said: “Speaking as someone who has to deal with such violence, almost on a daily basis, there is far too much violence and drunkenness on the streets of Bournemouth late at night.
“It may, in part, be due to the relaxation of the licensing laws. I would hope that relaxation is reviewed in the foreseeable future.”