Online - Masterclass: Licensing Law in Action

Councils when acting as a licensing authority need to ensure that the decisions that they make are ‘robust and according to law’ at all times. This applies equally to decisions made under delegated authority by Officers or those made by Members in committee. The mechanisms and reasonings lying behind the actual decisions are of critical importance to achieving this goal. This course will focus on these aspects with an emphasis on Hackney and Private Hire, Alcohol and Regulated Entertainment practice and procedures.

The day, which will be divided into four one-hour sessions, will include the three core topics listed below, each of which will look in detail at its subject, the relevant law, and its practical application. These sessions will be interactive and may include one or more practical exercises in which attendees will be able to participate. Attendees will be requested to consider these areas of practice in advance and are also invited to submit questions or practical examples of difficulties they have encountered for possible discussion on the day. Any examples should be anonymised.

Core sessions

• DBS, Common Law Police Disclosure and Information Sharing

• Licensing Objectives under the 2003 and 2005 Acts – effective?

• Making decisions that are robust and according to law

There will also be a number of ‘hot topic’ sessions taken from the list below where the latest developments in those areas will be set out and discussed to establish the direction of travel. The ‘temperature’ of each topic will be assessed some two weeks before the course to finalise the hottest which will be discussed on the day. These topics will be looked at in a workshop format with full interaction and may be taken within the core sessions above. The day will conclude with an open forum Q&A session, time and the previous sessions permitting.

Hot Topic sessions:

• Home to School Transport

• TENs Use and Abuse

• Revision of IoL Suitability Guidance

• VAT after Uber v Sefton

• The continuing cross border problem

• More National Standards? Required but how to achieve them?

• Agent of Change

These sessions are subject to change dependant on their ‘temperature’ nearer the course.

This course is suitable for experienced practitioners, particularly those who have the responsibility of providing legal advice to a Licensing Authority, the Police, or a Responsible Authority. Delegates with intermediate to advanced knowledge of licensing law and procedure will benefit most, although those with lesser knowledge and a desire to learn are welcome.