LGA fires up bid to ease licensing form delays

by John Harrington

The Local Government Association (LGA) is calling on ministers to let councils take a more relaxed approach to licence application forms that contain slight errors. The move would reduce the large number of forms that are rejected for being completed incorrectly.

A huge number of applications are being rejected because they include errors, many of which are relatively minor. Some councils are rejecting as many as half or more of applications.

LGA licensing spokeswoman Trish O'Flynn called for the Government to consider secondary legislation to allow councils to take a more common sense approach. "Local authorities need a bit more flexibility to reduce the number that are being rejected," she said.

O'Flynn said a particular problem is that licensees fail to give full information on their premises plans. "If, for example, a licensee has sent off plans for the premises but doesn't show all the information that he should, we could accept that plan for now and the licensee could give an undertaking to get the rest of the information in six months."

But O'Flynn urged hosts to fill in their forms carefully and read all information available to them. She pointed to a number of unnecessary errors that had been made on application forms. These included: using two different scales for different parts of the plan; not using a ruler; and having the form certified by someone who isn't a solicitor.

O'Flynn said one council rejected a personal licence application because it had been sent to the council where the applicant worked, not where they lived. Another authority was sent a photo that had been blown up to 45cm by 35cm, rather than the passport-sized 45mm by 35mm.

She added: "People just don't seem to be reading things that they are being sent. That's causing delay and it is costing us."

O'Flynn had already indicated that she was in favour of delaying the timetable. She said it would be helpful if the 6 August deadline for grandfather rights was moved, or the Second Appointed Day was pushed back.

Let police see rough drafts'

Licensees should send copies of their licensing application forms for an "informal check" by police before submitting them to local authorities.

Chief inspector Jon Donnery, chairman of the National Police Licensing Forum, said this would cut down on the time it takes to process the new applications.

Donnery, who is the licensing co-ordinator for Lancashire Constabulary, said many licensees were waiting until the latest possible moment to submit their forms to help delay paying their annual fees.

Donnery said that to save time hosts should be able to send in a "rough draft" of the filled-in application forms to the police for an "informal check" before it is officially submitted.

Pub boss slams disastrous transition

A pub company chief has accused the Government of turning a deaf ear to the plight of the trade through the new Licensing Act's "disastrous" transition.

Massive Pub Company boss Peter Linacre accused the Department for Media, Culture & Sport of bungling the act and suggested the Government should be appalled by its performance.

"What Government anywhere in the world could continue not to understand its own guidelines, to such a degree it was amending them weeks after the first appointed day, and then berate the sector for not getting its applications in more quickly?

"It has to be said the DCMS has been appalling throughout, the new system is now seen to be unwieldy and over-complicated by every one of its users," Linacre complained.

He added: "During the progress of the bill this Government did not listen, during the royal assent period it did not listen and it is not listening now.

"If it had listened it would know all the fears of the pub sector have been realised."

Linacre recalled Chancellor Gordon Brown's recent address to the CBI conference when he said he would listen with humility to the opinions of industry.

Linacre called on the Government, and the DCMS, to display more consideration and listen in an attempt to avert some of the impending disaster awaiting many pub owners.