Minister calls for greater collaboration between local licensing and planning regimes, additional training for officers

The Government is to further strengthen the section 182 Guidance that accompanies the Licensing Act 2003 by providing detailed advice on practical ways that local licensing and planning regimes can collaborate, the Minister of State with responsibility for alcohol licensing has said.

In a letter to local authority committee members (H/T the Institute of Licensing), Chris Philip said well-considered licensing and planning decisions were vital to ensuring public spaces can thrive and prosper.

The Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire said he particularly wanted to highlight activity linked to two issues that had been the subject of ongoing post-legislative scrutiny of the Licensing Act 2003 by the House of Lords. These related to the provision of training for licensing practitioners, and the collaboration between local licensing and planning regimes.

He added: “We are all aware that there is more that can be done to make collaboration between the two regimes more effective in order to save problems – and costs – from impacting local resources further down the line.”

Philp said that in addition to establishing two virtual groups with expert stakeholders and strengthening the section 182 guidance, the Government also intends to:

• explore how to provide further support for applicants on the importance of early identification of potential difficulties across the two regimes when making a licensing application, including clarification on the agent of change principle and what it means in practical terms for licensing applicants;
• consider whether the licensing application proforma would benefit from an additional question on potential planning requirements; and
• continue to explore possible ways of unifying pavement and off-sales licence applications.

In his letter the minister asked committee members to support this work by ensuring that all relevant local licensing officials have suitable training on matters of licensing and planning, including on the overall regimes and how the two regimes interact.

“We do not intend to mandate for a minimum standard or mandatory licensing training requirement - all local areas should be able to make their own decisions on what training is most valuable and necessary for their particular local needs, but we do encourage all areas to ensure that their local package is substantive,” he said, adding that the Government would continue to support this by disseminating good practice and signposting new and updated training materials produced at a local level.

The minister said the Government also encouraged committee members to explore all options available to them to improve local collaboration. “This may include considering opportunities to co-locate planning and licensing teams, maximising the role of planning as a responsible authority under the Licensing Act 2003, as well as continuing to engage with local residents and identify ways to support them in presenting any concerns about applications to licensing committees and how they interact with planning requirements.”