DUNDEE PUBLICANS have spoken out in force that the wrong people are being targeted by plans to charge nightclubs and late bars.

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill announced on Wednesday that late-night clubs and bars may have to pay more for their licences, and the revenue gained from these additional charges would then be ploughed back into providing the extra policing needed in areas of drinking and anti-social behaviour hot spots.

Sheena Thomson, president of Dundee Licensed Trade Association, said it was her strongly-held opinion that introducing more fees for licensees was not the right way to deal with anti-social behaviour.

She said, “They are hitting the wrong people with these new charges.

“To overcome binge drinking the real problem needs to be addressed which means if new charges are introduced they should be for all licensees, including off-licenses because they are the ones generally selling the cheaper booze.

“The person responsible for the crime of anti-social behaviour is the person who should pay, not the clubs and bars who are already paying extra security costs.

“It is not right to charge more by saying it is for extra policing—the law that deals with these anti-social drinkers’ crimes is already in place; it just needs to be enforced.

“It seems like a roundabout way of causing drink prices to be forced up again, but the average drink in a licensed premise is already kept high at £2.50 to £3 per drink, and then there is the extra cost of entry that people pay to clubs and late- night bars.

“Perhaps the people who do the crimes after drinking too much are the ones who should pay for the policing charges they are causing.

“If this type of fine happened often enough the perpetrator would soon stop. Basically, people should be held accountable for their own actions.

“The majority of licensees are very responsible and they take their job seriously. This means the majority are already paying a lot for late- night security and they shouldn’t be getting hit again.”

Colin Rattray, manager and licensee at Fat Sams Nightclub in Dundee, felt he already paid high costs for a good level of security staff.

“At Fat Sams we already have more security working each night than there are police patrolling in Dundee city centre.

“Any extra charge that they are proposing to introduce, by claiming it covers the cost of providing extra policing, is just ridiculous,” he said.

“They need to take into account the price that most late-night venues are already paying—it runs into six figure sums when you consider the rates, insurance, staffing and general running costs to name just a few.

“We have a great relationship with the police because we already do our part to protect customers and ensure we maintain a safe environment in and around the club.

“But the police also have a responsibility to the community, so it’s their job to also be policing the streets without us incurring extra costs for it.”

Mr Rattray continued, “I have been in the trade 20 years now and the drinking culture has definitely changed, but extra charges is a long way from being the answer to overcoming drinker’s anti-social behaviour, it needs to start with increasing people’s education about alcohol.

“There are laws in place already to ensure if a licensed premises is selling alcohol irresponsibly, then their license is removed, but it is also an offence for a premises to sell alcohol to people who are drunk and our staff abide by this.

“The main issue is to put the licensing act in order because it needs modernising and the priority should be with amending the act, not thinking of more unnecessary charges to make licensees pay.”

Tahir Ramzan, owner of Yuppies Bar and London Nightclub in Dundee, shared the opinion that the charges are hitting the wrong people and part of the answer is for the justice secretary to consider the drinking culture that exists.

He said, “We have a well run establishment and we pay door staff to ensure safety and supervision of drinkers, so there’s no need for us to pay extra charges—they are not justified.

“It’s supermarkets and off-licenses who need to be regulated and charged more—they are the ones who are selling the cheap booze that people are loading up on before coming into town.

“The drink culture has changed—10 years ago it wasn’t ‘cool’ to drink at home before going out, but now it’s the done thing.

“When people are drinking in the house, they are not being supervised and this is why binge drinking is happening.

“Extra police is not the answer to lowering anti- social behaviour caused by drink, or the answer to stopping under-age drinkers—stopping the sale of cheap booze is what they should be concerning themselves with.”

As the Scottish Executive is still considering the new fees, it is not known at present how ministers would determine which premises would be forced into paying additional sums, or how much they would actually be made to pay.