Please note: Although all licensing authorities are local authorities, not all local authorities are licensing authorities.
News | Local Authorities responsibilities | Fees | Training materials | Glossary
News
Premises Licence Regulations: the next steps
The consultations on regulations for several premises licensing issues have now closed. The responses have been analysed and we are working to lay regulations for the following areas by the end of January:
- Mandatory and Default Conditions
- Premises Licence application forms, licences and the forms for other associated applications
- Premises Licence Hearings
- Inspections of gambling licensed premises
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Premises Licence Fees
Regulations for Premises Licence Fees will be laid by mid-February.
Training Pilot on Gambling Act 2005 Permits
On 11 December, DCMS ran a pilot of training materials on Gambling Act 2005 permits with a group of licensing officers from various local authorities. The pilot involved an interactive presentation, case studies and several games to help enliven a potentially difficult subject. Following a successful half-day session, which initiated valuable discussion and provided practical feedback, the Department will make any necessary modification to the materials with a view to publishing them on this web-site in February.
Gambling Act 2005 Commencement Order No.4
This Order which came into effect on 13 November 2006 brings into force various sections of the Gambling Act to enable local authorities to:
- delegate responsibility for setting fees to their licensing committees;
- prepare statements of principle relating to the exercise of their functions for family entertainment centre gaming machine permits and prize gaming permits.
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Current Open Consultations
Premises Licence and Permit Fees Consultation Launched The Department has published a consultation document seeking views on proposals for fees for permits and premises licences issued by local authorities under the Gambling Act 2005.
The closing date to submit views on this consultation has been extended from 22 December to 19 January.
Changes to the Gambling Act 2005 implementation timetable
Following discussions with local authority and industry colleagues, Ministers have decided to make some changes to the implementation timetable for the Gambling Act 2005.
We remain committed to full implementation of the Act by 1 September 2007. However, the date for licensing authorities to receive advance applications for premises licences and for existing operators to apply for continuation rights have been put back by three months each.
The new date from which licensing authorities will receive applications for Gambling Act 2005 premises licences will be 30 April 2007. The new deadline for existing operators to receive continuation rights is 31 July 2007.
Further information:
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Local Authority responsibilities
Under the Gambling Act 2005 licensing authorities – and licensing boards in Scotland - will be responsible for issuing various permissions, permits and notices relating to the use of premises for gambling activities within their local areas.
- Premises licences for:
- Casinos
- Betting offices and race tracks
- Bingo clubs
- Adult gaming centres
- Family entertainment centre
- Permits for:
- Gaming machines in alcohol-licensed premises, such as pubs
- Gaming machines for members clubs
- Gaming in members clubs
- Unlicensed family entertainment centres
(Category D machines only - i.e. those that have the lowest level of stakes and prizes)
- Prize gaming
More about permits
- Occasional Use Notices
- Temporary Use Notices
- Provisional Statements
Licensing authorities will undertake inspections and enforce the conditions on these issued licences, permits and notices. They will also register small scale society lotteries.
For more information see:
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Fees
Local authorities will be able to set fees for premises licences from within fee bands prescribed by DCMS.
There will be an initial fee to cover the cost of application and an annual “maintenance” fee. Each premises type will have separate fee bands. The fee selected must be limited to cost recovery.
We believe this approach will ensure fairness and value for money, while also allowing licensing authorities to fully recover the costs associated with premises licensing.
In order to prescribe accurate fee bands, we recently issued a costing exercise which asks licensing authorities to set down the anticipated costs of their new duties under the Gambling Act 2005.
Based on the information submitted, we will prescribe the maximum for each band (the minimum will always be zero). We are currently running a consultation on proposals for premises licence and permit fees (please see above for details) based on the results of the costing exercise.
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Training
We have produced training materials for licensing officers and councillors to help them understand their roles and responsibilities under the Gambling Act 2005.
These training materials were developed in conjunction with members of the Premises Licence Transition and Training Group, a group of key stakeholders including representatives from licensing authorities and the gambling industry.
We hope the provision of these materials will increase levels of confidence in licensing officers and councillors and enhance the quality and consistency of decision making, benefiting both licensing authorities and the gambling industry.
Training materials on Gambling Act 2005 permits are currently in development (see news section) and will be published in February.
