From taxis to gambling, the LGA has been lobbying for improvements to licensing.
This year is already shaping up to be another significant one in licensing, with important announcements expected in key areas.
In taxi licensing, the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill is making its way through Parliament.
The LGA supports this bill, which would make it mandatory for licensing authorities to access vital background information about drivers seeking a licence in their areas. This will support the work of councils to ensure anyone using a taxi or private hire vehicle is kept safe.
The bill aims to build on work carried out by the LGA to address the issue of taxi drivers losing a licence in one area, then applying for a licence in another area without declaring their previous licensing history.
We were delighted that Peter Gibson MP, who is sponsoring the bill, was able to speak at the LGA’s annual licensing conference in February, and provide an update on this crucial work.
It was encouraging that he spoke positively about the LGA’s National Register for Refusals and Revocations, which we hope will be the designated database for this bill.
The conference gave delegates an opportunity to reflect on some of the key developments that can be expected to affect councils’ licensing committees and teams over the next year. There was a wide range of expert speakers, who covered issues including licensing and counterterrorism, animal licensing, and vulnerability in the night-time economy.
Among them was Gambling Minister Chris Philp MP, who provided delegates with an update on the Gambling Act review.
We are not expecting the outcome of the review until the spring. However, the LGA is continuing to lobby on our long-standing asks around the need for greater powers for councils to approve or reject applications for local premises, as well as raising concerns about the aim to permit.
We hope the review will give councils the flexibility to reach the right decisions for their areas.
Supporting the recovery from the pandemic was another focus of the conference. Cllr Bell spoke alongside Cllr Elizabeth Hitchcock, from Westminster City Council, about how licensing can support local businesses to recover from the pandemic.
We referenced the pavement licensing regime as being a great help to the hospitality sector in generating additional income to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic.
The LGA has been in conversations with government about the pavement licensing regime, and our lobbying has been instrumental in securing new burdens funding for councils.
We are now looking ahead to what the long-term future of the pavement licensing regime might be, and will continue to push for a scheme that meets the needs of residents and councils, as well as local businesses.
In other licensing news, the LGA is updating its support offer to help councils with the process of inducting new members onto licensing committees.
We are refreshing our licensing e-learning module, which will provide an overview of the role and responsibilities of a member of a licensing committee. This should be ready after the May local elections, so please look out for that.
We will also be developing some short videos to accompany this, in which we cover some different licensing scenarios for councillors to work through.