Government proposals to make pubs and restaurants pay for extra policing to tackle late-night rowdiness have been met with anger in the industry.
The policing levy, which could be included in a White Paper on anti-social behaviour published in a few weeks' time, will mean businesses could be expected to cover the cost of extra policemen every night.
Mark Hastings, director of communications at the British Beer and Pub Association, said his members were strongly opposed to the proposals, which he estimated could cost a single pub £14,000 a year.
"We've seen a number of schemes in operation and some of the numbers are truly horrifying," he said. "Fundamentally, this is the wrong way to approach the funding of the police. Police are on the high street during the day - why on earth should pubs be singled out for a special payment at night?"
Anna Steinitz, senior executive of Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL), whose members include major pub and restaurant chains, said the majority of her members were also opposed to the scheme.
"We're certainly not in favour of the idea, and I haven't come across one member who is," she said. "The problem is, the pub industry already pays £12b in contributions to the Treasury and the feeling is that they are paying a lot already."
The proposals come in the wake of several voluntary policing schemes, one of which operates on an intermittent basis in Peter Street, Manchester. Over Christmas and in the summer months, extra policemen are paid by local clubs, pubs and bars to patrol the area.
Sergeant Tim Whittaker, who oversees the initiative, said the scheme had been highly successful, with the number of serious assaults and woundings down by 14.5%, bringing a saving of around £1m to the taxpayer, and the number of arrests up by 446%.
"Every licensed premises which took part thought the scheme was brilliant," Whittaker said. "But the problem lay at a national level because the bigger breweries didn't contribute."
He added that the total cost of one of the trials over a 13-week Christmas period was a little more than £7,000.
Source: Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine, 20-26 February 2003