Memorandum from the Office of the Deputy
Prime Minister and the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport (RL 20)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. This memorandum describes the transition
process which allowed existing licence holders to convert to the
new licences required under the Licensing Act 2003 (the 2003 Act)
and what can be drawn from the experience of implementation. In
preparing this memorandum, ODPM has worked with the Department
of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to prepare a joint response.
2. The 2003 Act marks the end of the six
existing outdated licensing regimes which needed reform by integrating
them into a single, more efficient and effective system of licensing
that meets the needs of a vibrant, modern society and is fit for
purpose. It also provides a balanced package of freedoms and safeguards,
protecting the rights of business, individuals and communities
while clarifying their responsibilities.
LICENSING ACT
2003
3. The 2003 Act requires each licensing
authority to carry out its licensing functions with a view to
promoting four statutory licensing objectives. These are:
— the prevention of crime and disorder;
— the prevention of public nuisance;
and
— the protection of children from harm.
4. The modernisation of the legislation
also supports our wider aims to introduce more proportionate and
effective regulation, greater choice for consumers, encouragement
of family friendly premises and further development of the richness
and diversity of live music, dancing and theatre, regeneration
and protect residents from anti-social behaviour and nuisance.
5. The key measures contained in the Act
include:
— Flexible opening hours for premises,
which will help to minimise public disorder resulting from fixed
closing times;
— A single premises licence will bring
together six existing licensing regimes (alcohol, public entertainment,
cinemas, theatres, late night refreshment house and night cafés)
thereby cutting down on red tape;
— Premises licences to be issued by
the licensing authority after notification to and scrutiny by
the police and other responsible authorities;
— Personal licences to be issued by
licensing authorities after scrutiny by the police where the applicant
has been convicted of certain offences.
6. Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003
provides that the Secretary of State must issue, and may from
time to time revise, guidance to licensing authorities on the
discharge of their functions under the 2003 Act.
7. Guidance under this section was issued
in July 2004 and was prepared in consultation with an advisory
group including a wide range of organisations, agencies and Government
Departments, and took into account the views of over 650 other
organisations, residents' associations, businesses and public
bodies that contacted the Government about licensing reform and
the Guidance.
8. The Guidance will be kept under constant
review in consultation with the key stakeholder groups and will
be amended or supplemented as necessary at any time to address
issues arising from implementation affecting local communities,
licensing committees, the police, applicants for licences and
club premises certificates, those giving temporary events notices
and performances. We have agreed that the first review of the
guidance will begin in November 2005 to reflect lessons learnt
in the licensing process.
TRANSITIONAL PERIOD
"RE -LICENSING"
PROCESS
9. The term "transitional period"
refers to the period between the first appointed day (1AD) and
the second appointed day (2AD). The 2003 Act requires a period
of at least six months between the issue of Section 182 Guidance
and 1AD. However, in the event the Government set a seven-month
period by naming 7 February as 1AD. This was to accommodate the
views of the industry and local authorities that 1AD should not
directly follow the Christmas period and that applicants should
have some time to consider their licensing authority's policy
statement that had to be published by January.
10. It was recognised that the transitional
period would be a difficult and demanding time for licensing authorities,
responsible authorities and applicants in dealing with the anticipated
190,000 applications—made up of 180,000 existing premises
license holders and 10,000 new applicants. This is made up of
not only pubs (60,000) and clubs (1,800) but 46,600 off license
premises and about 20,000 registered members clubs. In addition,
around 200,000 individuals were expected to convert to obtain
personal licences or apply for new ones.
11. Existing licence holders had from 1AD
to 6 August to exercise their right to apply to convert their
existing licences ("grandfather rights") to new premises
licences or certificates.
12. Prior to 1AD, some stakeholder were
concerned that licensing authorities would be deluged by an immediate
rush of applications. In practice, however, there was an extremely
slow start to applications being received after 1AD. By May, only
3% of expected applications had been received. The rate of applications
started to pick up over the summer following action both on a
local level by local authorities, police and others and through
activity at a national level by the Government in partnership
with trade and local authority organisations. A significant peak
of activity by applicants to secure Grandfather rights in the
last few weeks before 6 August led to around 75% of applications
being submitted by this date. Indications are that around 98%
of expected applications are now in.
13. Of those anticipated applications outstanding,
the Government's discussions with local authorities suggest some
are because businesses are adjusting their business practices
to remove the need for a licence and others who are planning to
use temporary entertainment notices, at least in the short term.
Many licensing authorities are now using their intelligence of
the local licensing market to follow up on a case by case basis
those premises they anticipated needing a licence who have not
yet applied.
14. Feedback for local authorities and trade
groups suggest that the main affected sectors are now at virtually
100%—this includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, registered members'
clubs, supermarkets, theatres and cinemas. A targeted effort has
been made by the Government, with trade and partner support, to
target at risk groups. These groups include night cafés
and takeaways, small stores and restaurants and other independent
businesses generally. We believe that the majority of village
halls and sports clubs that want a licence have applied, although
village halls in particular will have a number that wish to rely
on temporary event provisions, rather than obtain a full licence.
The Government is confident that the vast majority of those who
need a licence on 24 November have applied in time.
15. The transitional period will end on
the second appointed day which, subject to Parliamentary approval,
is scheduled for 24 November 2005. From this point, new premises
licences and club premises certificates take effect and new powers
come into play which will enable the licensing system to start
delivering on its objectives.
16. Both the Local Government Association
and the Association of Chief Police Officer want to ensure there
is no delay in the second appointed day, a view shared by organisations
representing the on and off licence trade, sports clubs and village
halls. Delaying full implementation of the 2003 Act would require
new applications for temporary permissions and licences to cover
the Christmas period and additional expense for applicants and
local authorities, undermining the efforts of local government,
councillors, police, business and communities and applicants who
have worked together to get the system in place.
17. The emerging trends from applications
for the new system show that the Licensing Act is achieving the
objective of creating a more flexible system of opening hours:
— about 40% of applications (74,000)
are to vary existing licences, not just opening hours but increases
in premises offering food later into the evening, or public entertainment
for example.
— Very few premises have applied for
24-hour licences, and only a few have been granted, mainly for
supermarkets and off licences. Licensing authorities are reporting
a genuine variation in licensing hours as opposed to a general
shift to later opening.
— In addition a small number of premises
have had their licence to simply convert what they have now revoked
on application on the advice of the police, an example of how
the Licensing Act is providing greater protection in extreme cases
to close licensed premises.
18. It is also showing that communities
and authorities are engaging in the process. Local authorities
tells us that, of the applications to vary licences around half
have attracted representations from "responsible authorities"
or "interested parties", with residents accounting for
50% of representations. In two-thirds of cases representations
have been resolved through mediation avoiding the need for hearings,
suggesting a flexibility among applicants, authorities and interested
parties to work out solutions together.
19. However, where cases are being taken
to hearings, local authorities report that licensing committees
are responding to residents' concerns by adding conditions or
adjusting hours in 95% of cases.
20. In general, licensing authorities report
that they are coping with the current workload of representations
and hearings. Although it is recognised that this is as a result
of sustained effort and hard work over the last four months.
21. In summary, the transition to the new
system heralds a new era where a streamlined and effective licensing
system can respond to policing and community concerns but also
give more flexibility to businesses and choice to consumers. However,
as is inevitable in such transformational reform some specific
technical and unanticipated issues have arisen including:
— Golf clubs: DCMS have reassured them
on several issues. However, concerns remain over the fairness
of the fees regime and the interpretation by some local authorities
of some of the requirements of the Act (such as plans of premises).
— Amateur Sports Clubs: believe the
increase in fees to have an alcohol licence is unfair and will
threaten grassroots sport.
— Parish Councils: some feel they are
not being given sufficient say over licensing decisions. This
will often come down to interpretation as to whether a Parish
Council is an organisation that represents interested parties.
— Village Halls: some Halls do not
feel that having a full premises licence to sell alcohol is appropriate
to them, but are concerned that the limits on the light touch
regime for temporary events is too restrictive in the number of
events that can be held.
— Touring circuses: concerns that,
as they need a licence for each site, this could mean they need
to apply for 40+ licences. They believe this threatens the viability
of all but the biggest circuses and is unfair as static attractions
have to obtain only one licence.
LISTENING AND
LEARNING LESSONS
22. That is why the Government put in place
mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing the process. Measures
to learn lessons from the transitional period and the implementation
of the Licensing Act 2003 include:
— A High Level Group to monitor implementation
and review the impact of the Act;
— An Independent Fees Review Panel,
chaired by Sir Les Elton, to ensure the fees are set at the right
level for local government and licensees;
— A transition feedback form for local
authorities to report how licensing reforms are progressing during
the busy transition period;
— An agreement to review and update
Guidance as necessary; and
— Independent research to establish
live music activity in England and Wales prior to and following
the implementation of the Act.
— An evaluation of the crime and disorder
aspects of the 2003 Act by the Home Office.
High Level Group (HLG)
23. The Government has worked with a high
level group of stakeholders to cut across traditional boundaries
and share information and knowledge openly to ensure a transparent
transitional process.
24. The HLG is chaired by James Purnell,
the DCMS Minister for Licensing and includes representation from
the licensed trade organisations, community organisations, local
government, the police and other Government departments.
25. This group met throughout the transitional
period and shared information on the process to ensure early warning
of potential issues and the opportunity to resolve problems quickly.
The HLG has helped developed a partnership of parties that are
all committed to successful operation of the Licensing Act 2003.
It will continue to meet after the second appointed day and will
help monitor the on-going implications of the Act.
Independent Fees Review Panel
26. The Government has worked with local
government prior to the introduction of the 2003 Act to plan for
the introduction of the licensing scheme. The application fee
levels take account of consultation with local authorities during
2003 and meetings with local authorities and the Local Government
Association to take into account anticipated costs.
27. We believe that from the information
available at the time, the fee regime was set at a level sufficient
to fund administration, inspection and enforcement costs associated
with the discharge of local authority functions under the 2003
Licensing Act.
28. The Government remain committed to a
regime that is self-funding and agreed to ensure from the outset
that the fees are set at the right level for all stakeholders
affected by the new legislation. There remain different predictions
as to the implications of the Act and wide variations in the expected
costs.
29. Therefore, the Government have established
an Independent Panel, chaired by Sir Les Elton, to review the
licensing fee, income and expenditure incurred during the transition
period. The panel is due to provide an early report later this
year before completing its full independent review in the autumn
of 2006. The Government will then wish to review the fee regime
in light of the findings of the Independent Panel.
Transitional Period Feedback
30. In addition to the licensing fee review
and to help ensure swift action if any licensing authority finds
itself under exceptional pressure DCMS has:
— included a feedback form on their
website (www.culture.gov.uk) which any licensing authority can
use to send quantitative and qualitative information about the
implementation of the Act during the transitional period;
— used this information to supplement
normal communications and discussions with LACORS and in the high
level group; and
— Sought to use these mechanisms to
identify any particular authorities experiencing exceptional difficulties
and pressures in discussion with LACORS and the LGA.
31. The new licensing regime will be easier
and more efficient as six licences will become one. All decisions
will be taken by licensing authorities who are democratically
accountable. For years alcohol licence fees have not been reflecting
the true costs and taxpayers have effectively been subsidising
all those who hold licences or certificates for the sale or supply
of alcohol (estimated to be to worth about £25 million a
year). This will not be the case under the new system.
Review of Guidance
32. As mentioned above the statutory guidance
to the Licensing Act included a commitment to keep guidance under
review in consultation with stakeholders. In discussion with the
Local Government Association it has been agreed to begin a review
of the guidance in November 2005 to allow for early lessons from
the implementation process to be incorporated into the guidance.
Monitoring the impact of the 2003 Act
33. A range of studies are planned or under-way
to evaluate the impact of Licensing Act. This will include the
impact on particular sectors, such as village halls. As part of
the process the first baseline study of live music in England
and Wales has been undertaken, which will allow the impact of
the Act on live music to be considered when fully operational
in 2006.
34. The Home Office will be evaluating the
impact of the changes brought about by the Licensing Act on levels
of crime and disorder. A range of measures will be used to assess
the impact of the new Act at both a national and local level.
These include national surveys, which aim to assess change in
levels of alcohol related victimisation and offending. These will
be supplemented by case studies involving five towns and cities
in England. The local case studies will look at patterns of recorded
crime and disorder in relation to licensed premises and extended
hours, and where possible, accident and emergency and ambulance
service will also be assessed. Information will also be collected
from surveys among local residents as well as qualitative interviews
with representatives from the local authorities and the police,
and from a range of local businesses, including licensees
PROMOTION OF
GOOD PRACTICE
AND INNOVATION
35. The transition process introduced new
opportunities for residents, local authorities and the police
and encouraged business to adopt good practice in premises management.
The Government remains committed to ensuring that these tools
are widely promoted and adopted to ensure their effective and
strategic use. Ministers are undertaking a regional tour to cover
a range of licensing and tourism related issues.
36. The Government plans to build on these
powers through the Violent Crime Reduction Bill currently before
Parliament through Alcohol Disorder Zones, Drinking Banning Orders,
48-hour closure powers for premises persistently selling alcohol
to underage drinkers, directions to leave a locality for up to
48-hours and expedited review of alcohol licenses where premises
are associated with serious crime and disorder.
37. Through our Cleaner, Safer, Greener
Communities How to Manage Town Centres programme, Alcohol
Misuse Enforcement Campaigns and the work of the Live Music Forum,
we will be working with practitioners at all levels to ensure
awareness, action and outcomes arising from these new tools.
FORWARD LOOK
38. Our primary aim is to ensure the Licensing
Act 2003 delivers its objectives—prevention of crime and
disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; the
protection of children from harm.
39. The Licensing Act is addressing current
challenges, not creating them. Crime and disorder is fuelled by
alcohol at present, with around half of violent crime being linked
to alcohol and one in five violent incidents occurring in the
vicinity of pubs and clubs each week. The new powers for the police
and others will strengthen the ability of responsible authorities
to act quickly against poorly managed premises which contribute
to these statistics.
40. The previous inflexible licensing laws
contributed to this. The four licensing objectives of the new
system were developed after extensive and detailed consultation
and a lengthy review of the existing law conducted between 1998
and 2001.
41. The Licensing Act will not, on its own,
prevent crime and disorder, public nuisance, promote public safety,
or protect children from harm. However it has potential for becoming
a vital part of the solutions.
42. Licensing authorities will prepare and
publish a licensing policy statement every three years, setting
out how the authority intends to exercise its licensing functions
and must itself be prepared with a view to promoting the licensing
objectives. The lessons learnt over the last year will help develop
influence over the market and drive co-ordination of policies
on crime and disorder, transport and town centre management.
43. In conclusion, local government, the
police, residents and the licensed trade have successfully responded
to the challenge of converting to the new system, which will allow
the introduction of a streamlined and effective licensing system
that is fit for purpose in a modern and vibrant economy.
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