The last-chance saloon

Hosts are urged to get their applications in now so they don't miss out in November. Jo de Mille and Tony Halstead look at how councils are working to meet the deadline

Councils across the country are 'pulling out all the stops to help licensees who missed the 6 August deadline for licence applic- ations. But they stress the ultimate responsibility lies with the licensees, who must get their application in immediately to ensure they are licensed by 25 November.

Camden Council estimates that it received applications from 75% to 80% of the borough's 1,500 licensees by last month's deadline slightly higher than the national average of 75% as calculated by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport on 9 August.

But the 20% or more who missed the deadline should not panic, says Camden's assistant director for environment, Robert Scourfield. 'They may have missed the chance to transfer their existing rights, but their business is not at risk just yet, he adds. 'If businesses submit new applications by late September, their applications can still be processed before their current licences expire in November.

Council phoning licensees

The council's licensing team is now telephoning all outstanding applicants, and helping each to make an application. Licensees are being reminded of key dates and offered assistance with any queries about the new regime.

The team is also sending application packs to licensees containing forms, guidance on how to complete applications and awareness-raising material. It includes covering sheets offering translation and interpretation services for licensees who do not speak English as their first language. One-to-one workshops are available to help hosts complete applications.

Exeter City Council's head of environmental health Jayne Donovan believes the majority of the pubs that missed the deadline are freehouses, as they did not receive the help that the larger pub groups offered. Nevertheless, Exeter has received an 'excellent 95% of its applications from the 300 pubs and clubs in the area, leaving fewer than 20 licensees to contact.

'We've mail-dropped the remaining licensees inviting them to come to a workshop where we'll help them complete the application, and are also inviting people to phone us for advice, Donovan explains. Her team is offering to visit the licensees, or licensees can visit the council offices for one-to-one help.

While the absolute deadline to submit applications is 24 September, Donovan advises hosts to get the form in as soon as possible: 'If there are any queries with the form, this could require a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing, meaning that we may not be able to process it in time for the 24 November threshold.

'There are a number of reasons why people have missed the deadline. An application like this requires considerable thought and it may be that they wanted to wait and see what happened to other pubs who had already applied.

New regulations are complex

Chairman of licensing at Birmingham City Council, councillor David Osbourne, pointed to another reason some may have missed the August deadline: 'The new licensing regulations are quite complex and many people who approached a solicitor late in the day found that they could not cope with demand, which has led to a delay in submissions.

Nevertheless, according to Birmingham's head of service for licensing Jackie Kennedy, the council has received 90% of applications within the city centre and 80% outside it. 'We're not surprised, as we've been preparing for the August deadline in Birmingham for 18 months now, she says. 'But I always knew there would be a few stragglers who would bury their head in the sand, and also others who misunderstood that they needed to apply.

To help those who haven't yet applied, the council is holding six seminars, as well as drop-in days for one-to-one advice. Like all other councils the Morning Advertiser spoke to, Birmingham is quoting 24 September as the absolute deadline to give their licensing teams two months to process them.

Although Kennedy says the council would do 'whatever we can to help people meet the deadline to get their licence, she admits the council does not have time to phone or send out letters reminding of the dates. 'Our priority at the moment is to process the applications we've received so far, which on 10 August stood at 2,046, she explains.

Last-minute applications flood in

When the MA contacted Cardiff Council, it was also snowed under in processing licences received at the last minute. A spokesman says: 'During the two days before the 6 August deadline we received more than 400 applications people really need a deadline to work to!

Although there were no clearly identifiable segments of the trade missing, he says the large tenanted houses 'seem to leave it all very late.

He adds: 'We are not actively chasing up at the moment as we have no time, but we have written to licensees four or five times over the last six months explaining what they have to do, and inviting them to drop-in centres.

Despite around 80% of licensees having sent in their application, Cardiff was 'very surprised not to have received all the applications within the six months before 6 August. 'I must reiterate that if licensees now miss the third week of September deadline, they may not get a licence at all.

Daily meetings help councils take the strain

Council licensing committees are holding meetings on a daily basis in a bid to cope with the deluge of applications that have flooded into town halls in the run-up to the 6 August deadline.

But most believe they are on track to process the huge volume of paperwork necessary to ensure licensees can begin trading with their new licences in November.

Local authorities across the country reveal licensing officers and their staff are managing to cope despite the late rush by licensees and pub operators to hit last month's cut-off point.

Although a majority of applications are uncontroversial and can virtually be rubber-stamped, a sizeable number, where objections have been received, need to go before committees and some hearings can take up an entire day.

The new licensing process is placing a tremendous strain on both staff and councillors but each authority remains confident the job can be done.

Blackpool council, which received 75% of its applications before the deadline, says its licensing committee was meeting twice a day on some occasions.

'The meetings rate increases especially when there are a number of complex applications to be considered, says a spokesman.

'The number of applications has obviously decreased since 6 August but we expect things to accelerate as November nears.

Newcastle council, which has received 80% of the 1,300 expected, says its committee was sitting on average three times a week.

'But at the moment there is a sitting almost every day and this obviously requires a great deal of commitment from councillors, says spokeswoman Iris Boyd.

Liverpool council has so far received 1,300 out of 1,600 applications and has two separate committees to deal with applications which are either contested or complex in nature.

Westminster council, which received 77% of the expected 3,500 applications by the deadline, says its licensing committee was sitting up to four times a week.

'It's a massive job but we are getting there, says a spokesman.

Solicitor Anthony Horne of Manchester-based Licensing Legal warns however that there is a 'mountain of work ahead for town halls to meet their deadlines.

'We have really only just begun the hearings process into contested applications and have yet to start even considering how long the appeals procedures will take.

'I am convinced this is all going to be a very close-run affair, he says.

Councils deny setting boundary for objections

Councils have denied they are preventing local residents from fighting extended pub hours applications by using boundary lines to rule their objections out of order.

Residents in a number of areas across the UK claim the