CAMRA has called on the Home Office to abolish the Late Night Levy despite government changes to lessen the impact of the law.

The new rules allow local authorities in England and Wales to create levy areas smaller than their boundaries as well as extending the tax to late-night refreshment premises, such as cafés or takeaways.

The levy was introduced in 2014 to offset the cost of policing the night-time economy.

CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona (pictured) said: “These changes are a step in the right direction, allowing councils to make sure they can apply to a smaller area like a city centre rather than penalising business across the whole authority area.

“However, CAMRA is still calling on government to abolish the unfair Late Night Levy scheme due to its detrimental impact on well-run and responsible pubs, social clubs and taprooms which are at the heart of communities.

“It is for these very reasons that the government is changing the alcohol duty system in August to support and encourage people to consume beer and cider in the regulated setting of the pub. It makes no sense to support pubs through the tax system but penalise them through the Late Night Levy.

“The best way to tackle the problems of safety in the night-time economy is for councillors, police and hospitality business to work together to tackle local issues – not through a punitive and blunt measure like the Late Night Levy that applies to businesses even if they don’t open into the night or aren’t a source of anti-social behaviour.”