To ask the Minister for Communities following the passage of the Licensing of Pavement Cafés Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, for his assessment of charging to facilitate cafés wishing utilise pavements as part of their business.

The Licensing of Pavement Cafés Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 introduced a statutory licensing scheme for the regulation of pavement cafés by district councils; this included provisions which enable the council to charge fees to offset the cost of administering the scheme.

It is a matter for each council to decide whether it wishes to charge a fee and, if so, the level of fees which it deems appropriate.