The Licensing Committee of Hackney Council met on the evening of Wednesday 17 July 2024. The meeting was scheduled to consider an update on the council’s Late Night Levy scheme, including details of the scheme’s finances. This report details what was scheduled to be discussed in the meeting. It does not contain the transcript of what was said during the meeting, and so does not cover what was actually decided.

Hackney’s Late Night Levy

Two reports were included in the agenda pack for this meeting of the Licensing Committee, both of which relate to the council’s Late Night Levy scheme. The Late Night Levy is a charge that local authorities can choose to levy on businesses in their area that are licensed to sell alcohol late at night. The money raised by the levy is intended to be used to mitigate the impact of the night time economy, and at least 70% of the money must be given to the police.

Late Night Levy - Year 7, Quarter 2 Update

The first report, the Late Night Levy - Year 7 Q2 Update, contains an update on the second quarter of the scheme’s seventh year of operation, running from 1 February 2024 to 30 April 2024.

The report notes that the council received £109,281 in Late Night Levy payments during this period.

The report also provides an update on the council’s “Hackney Nights” programme of work. This programme aims to support well-run licensed premises in the borough. During this quarter, the council provided training to 323 nightlife and security staff, and conducted 128 engagement visits to venues. The council also reports that 11 venues signed up to the Hackney Nights accreditation scheme, bringing the total number of accredited venues to 44.

The report goes on to describe the council’s work offering pre-application advice to new licensed premises. The report notes that:

In the last quarter we have seen an increase in demand for application advice which may be due to the sector experiencing a lot of economic stress, and there is a need to adapt their business models in order for the business to continue.

A key part of the council’s work to mitigate the impact of the Late Night Levy has been a new “noise alert system and mediation support service” introduced in January 2024. The report describes how the new service:

aims to provide venues with an early notification of any noise reports made against their premises.

The report goes on to note that since this new scheme was introduced the average number of noise complaints received by the council each weekend has fallen from 10-15 to 4-5: a reduction of approximately 60%.

Finally, the report notes that Samantha Mathys, Hackney’s Late Night Levy Manager, was invited to speak at the Mayor of London's Women's Night Safety Summit. At the summit, Ms Mathys presented Hackney’s “#DontCrosstheLine” campaign. This campaign was launched by the council in 2022, and focuses on tackling harassment against women and girls in the nighttime economy.

Late Night Levy - Annual Financial Report 2023/2024

The second report, Late Night Levy - Annual Financial Report for 2023/2024, contains the financial report for the Late Night Levy for the 2023/2024 financial year.

The report notes that the council collected £479,395 from the Late Night Levy during the last financial year. The report explains that this is less than the £645,310 collected in 2022/2023 because in that year arrears relating to the pandemic were recouped. The report also notes that businesses made an additional £6,950 of voluntary contributions to the council's “Don’t Cross the Line” campaign.

The report then goes on to describe how the council spent this money. Most of the money, £207,296.24, was passed on to the Metropolitan Police in line with the requirements of the Late Night Levy legislation. Other significant expenditures included:

• Salaries, recruitment, equipment and administration for the Late Night Levy scheme itself (£131,314.33)
• Funding the “Hackney Nights” scheme of work with late night businesses (£27,948.81)
• The Medical Assistance Program, a scheme that provides first responders in the night time economy (£49,937.28)
• Environmental Protection Officers (£30,000)

The report concludes with the council’s forecast for the Late Night Levy in 2024/2025. The report forecasts that income from the levy will be lower than in 2023/2024, and will be around £450,000. Despite this, the report suggests that the council will be in a good position financially:

We are in a healthy position financially, however we will need to make cuts to some services by 2024/2025 to account for the reduction in income.