A taxi driver has failed in an appeal over the revocation of his private hire licence after he was caught by police using a mobile phone whilst driving.
MPs have said the 'agent of change' principle should be put on a statutory footing "at the earliest opportunity" as part of efforts to help support the UK's faltering grassroots music industry.
The High Court will this week (15 May) hear a challenge being brought by a nightclub in south-east London to a licensing authority’s use of remote hearings.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee has called for a list of licensed pet breeders to be made public, noting that more than half of the puppies entering the market come from unlicensed breeders.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has commenced the pavement licensing provisions laid out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, establishing a permanent pavement licensing regime for England.
A taxi driver who admitted showing a female passenger a weblink to an explicit website has lost an appeal to drive an East Cambridgeshire District Council licensed taxi or private hire vehicle.
A bill that will hand Transport for London (TfL) new licensing powers over pedicabs operating in the capital has passed its third reading in the House of Commons and is set to receive Royal Assent in the coming weeks.
A new licensing regime is needed to crack down on shisha bars that breach smoking laws and are linked to anti-social behaviour, the Local Government Association has said.
The Home Office has launched a six-week consultation on new laws which will require premises to fulfil necessary steps, according to their capacity, to help keep the public safe from terrorist attacks.
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.
The London Borough of Southwark has successfully obtained the setting aside of parts of a final order made under s.84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 modifying covenants in a lease of a public house. Philip Rainey KC explains how.
A Tribunal has upheld a council’s decision to include what the judge described as a ‘drinking man’s boozer’ on the list of assets of community value. John Fitzsimons looks at the ruling.
A Magistrates’ Court has found that a council was right to revoke a driver’s licence following a pattern of dangerous driving. Matt Lewin explains why.
Ben Williams reports on the successful prosecution of a premises owner for serious breaches of both the Licensing Act 2003 and the Health and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill (the “Bill” or ‘Martyn’s Law’) was published by the UK government on 2nd May 2023. The Bill is currently in draft and is being reviewed by the Home Affairs Select Committee, therefore subject to amendment prior to any subsequent introduction to Parliament, write James Nelson and Ewan Anthony.
The Local Government Association (LGA) and the Institute of Licensing (IoL) have this month published a training standard designed to set out what they believe to be a basic level of licensing committee member training.
Local authorities should have a duty to create a local night-time strategy, local plans should set out express protections for the night-time economy, and Parliament should legislate for remote licensing meetings, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has said.
Wolverhampton City Council has denied that it has acted improperly by licensing large numbers of minicab drivers who operate in other areas, after a BBC investigation found 9,000 drivers in Greater Manchester - one-third of the region’s total - had licences issued by Wolverhampton.
Westminster City Council is calling for the Government’s “long-promised” Transport Bill to be part of the legislative agenda, in order to regulate the impact of pedicabs and dockless bikes.
A Brentwood homeowner who suffered years of distress because the council did not properly investigate her concerns about the restaurant next door to her home, has had her complaint upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Councils do not, at present, have the powers they need to effectively manage local gambling premises, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
A Home Office policy requiring charities to obtain a controlled drugs licence in order to conduct safety tests on drugs at music festivals has "put lives at risk", a pre-action protocol letter challenging the decision has argued.
Manchester City Council has handed a takeaway that was the subject of numerous complaints from locals a closure order after an investigation found the premises was operating an unlicensed nightclub and bar from its basement.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that a borough council “failed to communicate” with a taxi driver after it received untrue allegations against him.
Seven taxi drivers have been convicted of plying for trade illegally, following an operation that involved the cooperation of Staffordshire Police and three separate councils in the area.
Scotland's Court of Session has found Edinburgh City Council's policy requiring short-term let (STL) operators to be licensed to be unlawful as it was not for the council as licencing authority to decide that a licence should not be granted just because a property is in a tenement.
The High Court has refused permission for a judicial review challenge that contended South Cambridgeshire District Council's policy requiring taxis to be fitted with CCTV was irrational.
A Maidenhead night club has won permission to judicially review a decision by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead to give planning permission for a regeneration scheme that would include its site.
The Government has announced a “major” reform of gambling laws in order to protect vulnerable users, which includes a review of the fees which local authorities can charge for premises licences.
The Government has published the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill setting out the requirements that, under the so-called ‘Martyn’s Law’, venues and other organisations will have to meet to ensure public safety.
A Magistrates' Court has ruled that neither the Licensing Act 2003 nor the Licensing Act (Hearings) Regulations 2005 require hearings to be held in a physical "place", in a case that challenged the London Borough of Lewisham's use of a remote hearing procedure to revoke a premises' license.
A Magistrates' Court is expected to hand down a ruling this month in an appeal of a London borough's decision – following a series of hearings that took place on Microsoft Teams – to revoke a premises' licence.
The Institute of Licensing (IoL) has issued a briefing note on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 in order to provide assistance to licensing authorities, applicants and representatives in relation to protected convictions and cautions.
The Home Office has launched a consultation on whether there is support for making permanent the alcohol licensing provisions in the Business and Planning Act 2020 or whether to return to the provisions in the Licensing Act 2003.
City of York Council has settled a wheelchair user's judicial review claim, which argued the local authority's pavement licensing policy was discriminatory.
Liverpool City Council has resolved to continue with its Late Night Levy, noting that it represents a "valuable source of income" for initiatives targeting problems associated with the late-night economy.
A Scottish court has found Edinburgh City Council's decision to implement a ‘nil-cap’ on strip clubs to be unlawful following a legal challenge brought by a sex workers union.
A High Court judge has quashed a local authority's decision to adopt a policy of having no cap on the number of sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licences that may be granted in its area.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council was entitled to revoke the licence of a pub that stayed open in breach of pandemic-era regulations, the High Court has ruled.
Philip Kolvin QC and Ronnie Dennis analyse an important Court of Appeal ruling on the lawfulness of Transport for London's decision to grant the company behind FREE NOW a London PHV operator's licence.
The High Court recently delivered a preliminary judgment in linked claims concerning the lawfulness of the recently completed competition for the licence to operate the National Lottery from 2024 onwards. Helen Davies QC and Malcom Birdling assess the implications.
A driver who entered into inappropriate conversations with a child has lost his appeal against revocation of his private hire driver licence. Olivia Davies explains why.
In 2020 Parliament provided for a register of fit and proper persons to manage residential caravan sites. In the first case to come before the First Tier Tribunal under the legislation, the Tribunal has upheld the refusal by Arun District Council to register five companies as fit and proper persons, writes Philip Kolvin QC.
Sefton Council has overturned a Magistrates Court’s decision to grant a taxi licence to an ex-policeman convicted of child abduction. Gary Grant explains how.
A recent High Court decision is a timely reminder of the principle that procedural requirements are there to further the interests of justice, writes Gerald Gouriet QC.
Philip Kolvin QC asks whether the High Court's decision that remote local authority meetings cannot continue without new legislation applies to licensing committee hearings.
Richard Harwood OBE QC looks at the Local Government Secretary's recent comments on Covid planning and pavement licensing measures for the hospitality and leisure industry, and propooses some other changes that would help.
The High Court recently quashed the Mayor of London's Streetspace Plan and TfL’s Bishopsgate Traffic Management Order. David Matthias QC and Charles Streeten explain why the black cab drivers succeeded.
Gary Grant analyses the new enforcement tools that allow local authorities in England to take action against premises that do not comply with COVID-secure rules.