Licensing News, Initiatives and Consultations
Licensing changes and initiatives, April 2017
Individual applicants must demonstrate right to work in UK
From 6 April 2017 it will be a requirement that individuals applying for a premises licence must have a right to work in the UK, evidence of which must be supplied with the application. Unfortunately if you fail to provide the necessary evidence we will have no option but to reject your application. Please read the guidance notes for
Entitlement to work for individual applicants.
Alcohol Wholesalers Registration Scheme
On 1 April 2017 it became a requirement that anyone purchasing alcohol wholesale is required to check that the wholesaler they are buying from is approved on the Alcohol Wholesaler’s Registration Scheme (AWRS) operated by HM Revenue and Customs. The following leaflet gives giving further details about the scheme.
Further guidance is also available on the GOV.UK website and an online checking service which businesses can use to check that their supplier is registered.
Licensing consultations
The Licensing Authority is currently undertaking its 3 year review of its Statement of Gambling Policy, and are keen to hear from residents, businesses, licensees and anyone else with an interest in the Royal Borough. For further details please see the Council’s Consultation Hub webpage.
Details of applications which are currently pending and open for public consultation can be found on the Council's Pending Applications Licensing Register.
Renewal of personal licences - regulation changes
On 1 April 2015 the requirement to renew a personal licence was de-regulated by central government. Any personal licences that show an expiry date later than 1 April 2015 will continue to remain in effect after the expiry date shown on the licence. Amended licences are not being routinely issued, however, any personal licence holder who wishes to receive an updated licence should request this in writing and return the original paper and card licences to the licensing team together with a fee of £10.50.
Public health and alcohol
The Substance Misuse and Offender Care (SMOC) Commissioning Team provide advice and support on Public Health issues in relation to alcohol and licensing as well as supporting partnership initiatives to address local alcohol specific issues through our Public Health funded and commissioned community alcohol and drug services which work across the Royal Borough and provide treatment for residents who may have drinking problems. The key contact for licensing and alcohol in the SMOC Commissioning Team is Theresa McShane, email [email protected].