Time to act on council failure to accept electronic licensing applications, says leading law firm
The government should take action to ensure local authorities implement the necessary IT systems to accept electronic licensing applications, a leading licensing law firm has demanded.
Nick Arron, a partner at Poppleston Allen, said the firm would be making the call as part of its submission to the government’s Red Tape Challenge in relation to the hospitality industry.
“At present they [electronic applications] simply don't work,” he said. “Local authorities are required to accept licensing applications electronically but, in our experience, very few do. The ability to make licensing applications electronically has significant cost benefits and we will be encouraging the government to ensure local authorities implement the necessary IT systems.”
Arron also called for the “expensive and unnecessary” requirement to advertise licensing applications in local papers to be scrapped. “Very few residents become aware of licensing applications through local papers,” he said. “Instead they see the displayed notice outside the premises.”
The Poppleston Allen partner suggested that the bureaucracy inherent in licensing applications could be cut by simplifying the long and often repetitive nature of the forms.
He added that signage requirements could be scaled back, “for instance the requirement for smoke free signs – a ban which is now universally known and understood.”
Arron acknowledged that the government was taking “some small steps” to reduce red tape in licensing. These include the current Live Music Bill (which seeks to exempt small music events from licensing requirements), legislation to remove Alcohol Disorder Zones and a consultation on removing the mandatory conditions. “These initiatives should be pursued,” he said.
In relation to the gambling sector, Arron suggested that a general reduction in the licensing cost, “which increased significantly under the Gambling Act 2005”, would provide a boost to the industry.
