Licensing Policy Documents

Licensing Act 2003

The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005 and transferred the responsibility for licensing premises and persons selling alcohol from the courts to local authorities.

A requirement of this new legislation is that all local authorities (or Licensing Authorities as they are known under the Act) must draft, consult on and publish a "Statement of Licensing Policy". The Statement of Licensing Policy must have regard to the content of a set of Guidance notes published by the Secretary of State.

The current statement of Licensing Policy was approved in December 2010 and it sets out how we plan to deal with applications made under the Act and balance people's desire for entertainment with residents' right to a peaceful nights sleep. The Act requires each Authority to review its Statement of Licensing Policy whenever necessary and, in any case, every three years. Read the Foreword to Licensing Policy by Councillor Nicholas Paget-Brown, Cabinet Member for Transportation, Environment and Leisure and the current Statement of Licensing Policy [PDF] (file size 1.7Mb).

The Licensing Act 2003 can be found on the National Archives Legislation website and the Secretary of State's Guidance can be found on the Home Office website.

Licensing Policy Review

In 2011 the Government passed the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 which, in part, amended some sections of the Licensing Act 2003.  Some of these amendments became effective on the 25 April 2012.  As a result of these changes and  the amended Secretary of State’s Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Licensing Authority is reviewing its Statement of Licensing Policy.

The proposed changes are identified in the Amended Statement of Licensing Policy [PDF] (file size 1.8Mb).

We are keen to hear from residents, businesses, licensees and anyone else with an interest in the Royal Borough.

Please send comments on the draft policy to:

Patrick Crowley 

Licensing Team Manager 

Council Offices

37 Pembroke Road

London W8 6PW

Or email: slpconsultation@rbkc.gov.uk

The closing date for comments is 5 June 2012

 

Gambling Act 2005

The Gambling Act 2005 came into force on 1 September 2007 and replaced most of the existing law about gambling in Great Britain. The Act put in place an improved, more comprehensive structure of gambling regulation. It modernized 40-year-old gambling laws, ready to face the challenges of today and the future, while including a number of important protections.

It established The Gambling Commission, a new, independent national regulator for commercial gambling in Great Britain who are also the issuing Authority for licences for operators of gambling businesses

The Gambling Act requires all Licensing Authorities to prepare, consult on and publish a Statement of Gambling Policy every three years, setting out how the Authority will manage the licensing of local gambling premises.. The current Statement of Gambling Policy was published on 25 January 2010 and came into effect on 22 February 2010. Read the Statement of Gambling Policy [PDF] (file size 1.08Mb) for more information.

Guidance issued to Local Authorities by the Gambling Commission can be found on the Gambling Commission website.

Licensing Enforcement Policy

The Licensing Team is responsible for carrying out duties for various different licensing functions, including enforcement. When carrying out enforcement duties within the Borough licensing officers must have due regard to the Regulators’ Compliance Code, which places a number of obligations on local authorities when undertaking enforcement duties, among others, taking a consistent approach to enforcement and being proportionate in response to any licensing breaches. To achieve this the Council has adopted an enforcement policy which sets out the Licensing Team’s general approach to enforcement. Read the Licensing Enforcement Policy [PDF] (file size 85.6kB).