Cost: £199 +VAT

This online course provides you with the opportunity to complete LLG’s highly popular Licensing Basic Survival Guide course from the comfort of your home office. Delivered by renowned speaker Stephen Turner, the day will be broken down into four interactive sessions, allowing all attendees to engage with the speaker and with each other, share experience, ask questions, and participate in case study examples.

Councils, when acting as a licensing authority, need to ensure that any decisions they make are robust and according to law at all times. This applies equally to decisions made under delegated authority by Officers, and those made by Members. Licensing law is both complex and varied, some of it modern and some of it antiquated and in need of reform. This course will concentrate on taxi (hackney and private hire) together with alcohol and regulated entertainment.

The course will deliver a basic legal and practical grounding in licensing law and procedure, illustrated by reference to the leading cases. It will not deal with temporary or emergency changes arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be sections on constitutional arrangements, delegations, decision making powers, application processes, reports and recommendations, objections and representations, decision making processes, reasons for decisions, reviews and appeal processes, fees, Members’ interests, natural justice and human rights.

Audience

This course, which will be delivered from the legal standpoint, is suitable for new legal advisors to both Licensing Departments and Committees, as well as Democratic Services officers who intend to service Licensing Committees. It will also be of benefit to Licensing Officers who wish to set their practical knowledge against the legal background. Officers returning after a career break would also find it a useful refresher or update. No prior knowledge of licensing law or procedure is required. Some pre-reading will be required to benefit fully from the day, which will be provided to attendees in advance of the course.

This course will:

• Introduce you clearly and concisely to licensing law
• Aid and expand your understanding of licensing issues
• Ensure you are aware of points to watch for
• Compare different types of applications that you will need to process
• Tell you when a licence is necessary and what types there are
• Give you a more detailed understanding and more confident outlook when dealing with all licensing matters
• Avoid any potential problems by making you aware of recent and leading cases
• Ensure you are in a position to advise on the decision-making process and avoid challenge on the basis of bias on the part of either Officers or Members

CONTENT

LOCAL AUTHORITY POWERS TO ISSUE LICENCES

• Which powers need to be adopted before use
• Which powers are automatically available

WHEN IS A LICENCE REQUIRED?

• When are licenses required under the Licensing Act 2003?
• When is a Licence needed to Carry Passengers for Reward?

PROCESSING APPLICATIONS

• Licenses under the Licensing Act 2003
• Hackney Carriages, Drivers and Proprietors
• Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators

WHO GRANTS/REFUSES THE LICENCE/MAKES DECISIONS

• Officers
• Members
• Full Council

REPRESENTATIONS/OBJECTIONS

• When may a Member have an interest in an application?
• Are Representations/Objections relevant?
• What constitutes a Representation or Objection?
• Who can make a Representation or Objection?

DECISION MAKING

• Is the applicant entitled to be heard?
• Rules of Natural Justice
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Hearing/Meeting Procedure
• Reasons

REVIEWS and APPEALS

• What can be Reviewed, by whom and when?
• Grounds?
• Urgency?
• Who can Appeal?
• Within what time and to whom?
• The Appeal Process