Select Committee on Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Second Report

1  Introduction

The Licensing Act 2003

1. Reform of the licensing laws was a manifesto commitment of the Government in the last two elections. In 2000, a White Paper, Time for Reform: proposals for the modernisation of our licensing laws, was published, and the Licensing Act was passed in 2003. However, the Act did not come into force until 24th November 2005. It was intended to give additional powers to those regulating licensed premises, and more flexibility for licensees and customers. It brought together, and extended, the existing licensing systems formerly incorporated in ten different pieces of legislation, covering:

a)  alcohol;

b)  public entertainment;

c)  theatre;

d)  cinema;

e)  night cafes; and

f)  late night refreshment houses.

2. Those who required licences to operate under the Act had two deadlines to meet. The application period began in February and the deadline for submitting an application to renew an existing licence was 6th August 2005 (the First Appointed Day). Any licensee who had not applied at this point would be treated as a new applicant, losing their 'grandfather rights'.[1] All premises wishing to trade with a licence needed to have that licence by the date of final implementation of the Act (the Second Appointed Day), set as 24th November 2005.

The Committee's Work

3. The Committee in the previous Parliament had looked twice at the Licensing Act, as part of its inquiries on the Evening Economy.[2] In October 2005, we became aware that many of those involved were experiencing problems with the process of issuing new licences under the Act. Given our prior interest, we felt that a short report on this subject would provide an opportunity for those involved to put their views in the public domain. Although the period in which licence applications were made and processed was referred to by those involved as the transition period, we used the term 're-licensing' as the title of our inquiry as it had been used across the media to describe the process.

4. We announced our inquiry on 13th October, and held our evidence session on 31st October. We received 20 pieces of written evidence, and took oral evidence from:

• the Federation of Small Businesses;
• the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers;
• Councillor Audrey Lewis, Chair, Licensing Sub-Committee, Westminster City Council;
• Mr Andrew Fisher, Head, Licensing Unit, and Tony Kelly, Project Manager, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council;
• Councillor Chloe Lambert, Deputy Chairperson, and Mr Patrick Crowley, Adviser to the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), Local Government Association;
• Mr Philip Kolvin, Chair, and Mr Jeffrey Lieb, Vice-Chair, Institute of Licensing;
• James Purnell MP, Minister for Media and Tourism, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and
• Phil Woolas MP, Minister of State for Local Government, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

We are very grateful to all those who gave evidence to this inquiry.

The Elton Review

5. The Licensing Act 2003 Fees Regulations came into force in February 2005. In May 2005, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced an Independent Licensing Fees Review Panel, headed by Sir Leslie Elton, with the following terms of reference:

to:

a)  consider whether the fees cover the full cost to licensing authorities;

b)  identify the scale, extent and nature of any problems encountered by licensees/licence payers and licensing authorities;

c)  make recommendations about how the existing fee structure and levels could be developed, and

d)  ensure best practice is being fully realised across all authorities.

The Review is due to report its findings in autumn 2006.

6. In December 2005 an interim report was published, which covered many of the areas we looked at during our inquiry and made interim recommendations.[3] Many issues were of such concern to local authorities, licensees and residents that it was inevitable both inquiries would seek to address them. We agree with many of the Elton Review interim recommendations, and have made it clear when our views coincide, but our Report also looks at wider issues not covered in the Review. We look forward to the final report of the Independent Licensing Fees Review Panel and expect that our Report will be of use to the Review.

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1   'Grandfather rights' is the term used to signify that the licence applicant is an existing licensee, and has already gone through the processes a first time licencee must undergo.  Back

2   The Evening Economy and the Urban Renaissance, Twelfth Report of the ODPM Committee, Session 2002-03 (HC 396); The Evening Economy and the Urban Renaissance: a follow-up, evidence taken before the ODPM Committee, Session 2004-05 (HC 456). Back

3   http://www.culture.gov.uk/alcohol_and_entertainment/monitoring_and_evaluation/ifreview.htm Back

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Prepared 17 March 2006