Agenda item

To inform Licensing Committee members of the statutory requirement to review the current Statement of Licensing Policy and to seek approval to commence a six-week public consultation with relevant bodies and stakeholders.

The Service Delivery Manager - Registrars, Public Protection, Legal & Democracy presented the review of the current Statement of Licensing Policy and sought authorisation to circulate for consultation the draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2026-2031. The policy would then be submitted to the Committee with any suggested amendments for its adoption at Full Council in January 2026.

The Statement of Licensing Policy was regularly reviewed and revised by Members and the Licensing Act 2003 required the Policy to be reviewed previously every three years, but the requirement had now been changed to every five years.

A consultation had taken place in accordance with Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 having regard to Home Office guidance which was fairly common and reflected best practice.  The Policy related to all responsibilities under the Licensing Act and included personal licenses, premises licenses, club premises certificates and temporary event notices.  

The existing Policy had not changed significantly but it included new sections and updates and incorporated updated s182 guidance that reflected matters the Committee had considered over recent years.  The draft Policy introduced reference to the Licensing Security and Vulnerability Initiative (LSAVI) accreditation schemes and acknowledged alternative schemes such as Best Bar None which emphasised best practice around safety for women and vulnerable persons, the increasing use of digital ID and expanded the guidance on the Live Music Act.  Members were familiar with the 2012 Act which contained the conditions relating to live music and if issues arose a request could be made to vary the licence, re-impose conditions, limit the licensed hours or remove the licensed music from a premises licence.

Included within the Policy was further information in relation to responsible authorities making it clearer who they were and how they worked within the guidance.  It reflected the strong partnership working and aimed to encourage a more joined-up approach.  Having a clear policy was important to support any decision the Committee may make such as modifying conditions, excluding licensable activities or revoking a licence.  The Policy was a useful tool and ensured decisions were made correctly. 

A six-week consultation would be undertaken, and the draft policy had been published on the Council’s consultation portal.  Stakeholders, including all responsible authorities and licensing premises across the borough would be contacted and a more proactive approach would be taken to encourage responses. Following the consultation, Officers would review all of the submissions received and create a final draft Policy which would come back to Committee to decide whether to recommend to Full Council for adoption.

During the debate, some Members asked, in relation to live music, whether Telford and Wrekin Council applying in its own right was a variance to the previous Policy and, in relation to Section 14 of the Policy, how would the removal of a DPS work for a volunteer committee.  Other Members asked if a working group could be set up in order that they could gain more understanding of the Policy and to look at the information that was received during the consultation.  It was also asked if the Policy could be put into bite size sections, or a brief summary, in order to encourage local businesses to respond and whether feedback received at the time of applications being made and ongoing feedback was also taken into consideration.

The Licensing & Night-time Economy Manager informed Members that in relation to the Council applying in its own right, there had been no change to the information previously set out in the Policy.  A removal of a DPS was something that the Committee could authorise if a premises was taken to a review.  In relation to volunteer committees, a community premises would have to apply for a licence and the Committee and appoint a DPS in order that the Committee knew who would be on those premises during events.

The Service Delivery Manager - Registrars, Public Protection, Legal & Democracy informed Members that following a six-week consultation, that responses would be fed into the final draft Policy which would be brought back to Committee and if Members considered this would be useful a workshop could be arranged, but noted the tight timescales to ensure the policy was adopted at Full Council in January to meet the Council’s statutory obligations.

In relation to bitesize sections, this seemed to be a practical solution and areas of change to the Policy could be identified.  Communications could also be circulated regarding the landing page identifying that there were not wholescale changes and set out the changes in bullet point form.  An email communication could also be sent out to relevant consultees containing the details.  In order to seek out further engagement, Nighttime Economy Officers could hand out material when undertaking visits during the quieter periods and encourage participation in the consultation.   It may also be possible to add the consultation to the agenda of Pub Watch meetings.  The Council was doing everything it could to encourage participation as it valued the responses received.

Following the debate, it was unanimously:

RESOLVED – that a six-week consultation period on the draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 – 2031, to arrive at a final draft for consideration by Committee prior to its consideration and adoption at Full Council, be approved.