Pubs, clubs, bars, late night food shops and other licensed premises can be a source of disturbance, nuisance and disorder - but while we should never shirk our responsibility to protect local residents, we also need to protect the businesses that are often at the heart of our local communities and play such an important part in making Camden special.

While Licensing Panels of specially-trained Councillors make decisions on applications for licenses, infrequent meetings of the Licensing Committee bring all of the Councillors who sit on Licensing Panels together to look more holistically at issues of licensing.

One of the issues we looked at on Tuesday was Special Policy Areas - designated areas where there is a high concentration of licensed premises (Camden Town and Seven Dials, though we are consulting on extending the Seven Dials area to include other parts of Holborn and Covent Garden)

The debate brought out a worrying tendency of many on the Committee to prioritise looking tough over being effective, ignoring any evidence in a strange (and slightly sad) desire to simply ‘be like Westminster’. Of course our first priority is to protect residents from nuisance, disturbance, crime and disorder. But we do this best by cracking down on irresponsible and problem licensees (the Lib Dems would give communities the power to close down pubs that are causing problems), and by encouraging and supporting responsible licensees who in turn give life to our communities, bring a massive boost to the local economy and play a huge part in what makes Camden a special place. Too many members of the Committee seem eager to view licensees as the enemy rather than the key to better licensed premises - a view that is only going to undermine attempts to encourage and attract responsible licensees.

Many of the Committee members want to make the Special Policy Areas even more restrictive, with a blanket presumption against increasing operating hours. While this may sound attractive to many it is simply not needed, has no evidence base, may undermine our current rules by opening us up to more legal appeal and challenge and, by prioritising looking tough and painting licensees as the enemy over working together for a more effective solution, will only alienate those we most need to work with. The reality, ignored by many Committee members, is that there has not been a single successful appeal against a refusal to extend a licensed premise’s hours based on our current policy. In other words, our current policy works when we use it.

Of course we do still have problems - often serious problems - in these special areas. The cause, however, is much closer to home - and it is unsurprising that some members would prefer to focus on looking like they’re toughening up instead of confronting the embarrassing reality: that members, the Police, the Environmental Health service and others are not doing their jobs properly. At Tuesday’s meeting we looked at attendance - a record that all of us on the Committee bear a collective responsibility for, and should be ashamed of. At Licensing Panel meetings, when decisions are made on licence applications, Environmental Health reports are notable for their absence and Police reports for their standardised content, rarely tailored to the actual premise in question and often falling apart under scrutiny - especially as the officers attending (who, I should state clearly, do a huge amount of very good work on licensing in general) are often poorly briefed.

One particular area of concern is over how the Police approach Camden Town: while the licensing team paint an apocalyptic picture of doom and devastation (they should see Cardiff City Centre on a Friday night…), their own figures show nuisance and crime is significantly down - largely thanks to the huge investment in more police on the streets (one of my first acts as Executive Member for Community Safety in 2006) and the strengthening of licensing enforcement. Furthermore, while they have called for a moratorium on all new late night food licences in Camden Town, only 4 of these licenses have been brought for review. If we are going to encourage responsible licensees that contribute to public safety and crack down on those causing problems, this balance is surely very wrong.

The way we approach licensing needs to change quite radically if we’re going to really make a difference. Looking tough is not good enough - looking at ourselves and our partners, and how we work, should be our priority.