Part 7: Alcohol licensing Section 141: Cumulative impact assessments
Section 141 amends the 2003 Act to make provision for cumulative impact assessments.
	Subsection (2) inserts new sections (6D) and (6E) into section 5 of the 2003 Act. New section 5(6D) requires a licensing authority to have regard to any cumulative impact assessments it has published when determining or revising its statement of licensing policy. New section 5(6E) requires a statement of licensing policy to summarise any cumulative impact assessments published in its area and explain how it has had regard to such assessments.
	Subsection (3) inserts new section 5A into the 2003 Act, which allows a licensing authority to publish a cumulative impact assessment if it considers that the number of relevant authorisations in an area is such that it is likely that granting further relevant authorisations would be inconsistent with its duty to promote the licensing objectives.
	Publication of a cumulative impact assessment does not automatically prevent the authority granting new licences or variations of licences. As with all applications under the 2003 Act, if no representations are made and the application is made lawfully, the licensing authority must grant the application. Anyone wishing to challenge an application would need to make a relevant representation. However, anyone making a representation may use the evidence published in the cumulative impact assessment, or the fact that a cumulative impact assessment has been published, as the basis for the representation. The power under new section 5A is discretionary, so licensing authorities will not be required to consider the cumulative impact of licensed premises in their area.
	New section 5A(3) provides that, for the purposes of section 5A, "relevant authorisations" means premises licences or club premises certificates. New section 5A(4) enables a licensing authority to restrict a cumulative impact assessment to certain relevant types of authorisations described in the assessment, for example, it could include all licensed premises or it may only include off-licences or only the on-trade (for example pubs and nightclubs).
	New section 5A(5) provides that the licensing authority must consult the list of persons set out at section 5(3) of the 2003 Act (including relevant responsible authorities and local businesses) before publishing the assessment, which must include the evidential basis for its opinion. In consulting with these persons the licensing authority must provide the reasons why it is considering publishing a cumulative impact assessment; a general indication of the part or parts of its area which it is considering describing in the assessment; and whether it considers that the assessment will relate to all relevant authorisations or only to relevant authorisations of a particular kind.
	New section 5A(7) to (12) requires the licensing authority to consider, at least every three years, whether it remains of the opinion set out in the cumulative impact assessment. The licensing authority must publish a statement on whether it remains or no longer remains of the opinion in the assessment, and must consult relevant local business and authorities, as set out in section 5(3) of the 2003 Act, before it does so. If it does remain of the opinion, it must publish supporting evidence as to why this is the case. A licensing authority must also publish any revision to a cumulative impact assessment.