Newcastle’s new council leader has expressed doubts over an extra charge imposed on the city’s late night venues, but says he will not make a “kneejerk” decision to scrap it. Under rules that have been in force since 2013, city businesses with a licence to sell alcohol between midnight and 6am have had to pay the Late Night Levy – an annual fee of between £299 and £4,400.
Background of the Levy
Its proceeds have been used to help pay for public safety measures in the city centre, but there have been calls to abolish the charge in order to help struggling bars and clubs. Leading hospitality industry figures have been urging the Government to take action that would ease the financial pressure on businesses hit hard by spiralling energy bills and other costs. House of Tides’ Kenny Atkinson is among the top chefs who have called for the VAT rate on hospitality businesses to be reduced from 20% to 10%.
Review and Change in Administration
Following a spate of closures of popular Tyneside venues like Prohibition and Horticulture, Newcastle City Council’s former Labour administration announced earlier this year that it was putting the Late Night Levy under review. Following last month’s local elections, the council is now run by a Liberal Democrat minority administration.
New council leader Colin Ferguson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he is not convinced by the levy, but would not rush into abolishing it while a consultation over its future is still taking place. The Gosforth councillor said: “I think I have been reasonably consistent in my position that I am a sceptic of the Late Night Levy, as far as the position it puts the hospitality sector in. The hospitality sector is facing tremendous pressure and I have talked at length with a number of people about this and I know the pressure they are under.
“So my position on the Late Night Levy is one of scepticism and it remains so. But we have a process of consultation ongoing at the moment, which the previous administration started. I kind of need to let that work through and see what the responses are.”
Use of Levy Funds
70% of the proceeds from the levy go to the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner. The funds have been used over the years to fund things like extra police patrols, marshals at taxi ranks, and an ID card scanning system used in some bars and clubs to crack down on underage drinking. The levy raised £242,000 in 2023/24.
Coun Ferguson added: “I would want to be really clear about where there are really good initiatives that the Late Night Levy has been funding, which you would not necessarily want to lose. I am thinking in particular about public safety and the safety of women and girls. I don't want to take some sort of kneejerk position on this. I want to be really clear that if we make a particular move, how do we then work that through to maintain what I think everybody would agree is a good thing?”
