Home / Licensing that works: celebrating the balance between regulation and business for NLW
12th June 2026
Claire Morris, Associate
To round up the week, NLW states that ‘licensing is in every aspect of business to ensure practices are safe, fair and have the appropriate monitoring and enforcement’, which we have taken as an opportunity to celebrate what works well in regulation and in the relationship between licensing and business.
We work with a lot of really good council officers, responsible authorities and councillors. You know who you are, and it is our professional pleasure working alongside you. We know your roles are not always easy, often requiring diplomacy and the careful navigation of local politics, whilst retaining your objectivity.
So, today, we have pulled out the top five things you do that make a big difference to our clients’ businesses based on your ‘good practice’.
Partnership working is always at the top of the list. It is the vein that runs through the national guidance and the National Licensing Policy Framework for Hospitality and Leisure Sectors (NLPF). When regulators and businesses collaborate effectively, both benefit: businesses can operate with confidence and minimal disruption, while licensing authorities experience reduced demand on their resources. Kuits acts for licensed premises the length and breadth of the country.
Every now and then we meet a responsible authority who adopts an ‘us and them’ approach from the start and looks for reasons to say ‘no’. We also meet councillors who forget that premises’ staff and customers are also likely to be their constituents (and we recognise that councillors can be put in a tricky position because of the competing demands and views of their constituents). We will still come across the odd councillor who uses the threat of review – knowing it is an expensive, stressful and time-consuming process – as an unjustified means of trying to introduce changes to operations that aren’t warranted.
The starting point should always be ‘how can we support premises to operate how they would like, whilst also upholding the licensing objectives in a necessary and proportionate way’. The NLPF says it well – “Businesses need the flexibility to evolve and invest and a licensing system that supports innovation whilst maintaining public safety” (para 4.1) so licensing should be seen “… as a tool for enabling innovation and investment, not just managing risk” (para 1).
We always welcome conversations with authorities that suggest a way forward and show a genuine desire to work with us and our client to try to make something – and, let’s face it, it’s usually something exciting – happen. It is so much more effective and enjoyable, and helps build a trusting professional relationship.
Related to partnership working is the reminder that the Licensing Act 2003 is intended to less prescriptive and more enabling. When regulators and businesses collaborate effectively, both benefit: businesses can operate with confidence and minimal disruption, while licensing authorities experience reduced demand on their resources. It is perfectly reasonable to treat a well-run premises as one – so compliant, low risk premises warrant a lighter touch approach. This frees up resources that can be directed where their focus is needed. We all recognise that things do go wrong and the enforcement framework will be engaged.
Good regulation starts with informal engagement and support (allowing operators to demonstrate how they are managing an issue), a problem should only be escalated where necessary. A stepwise approach to enforcement with a primary focus on problem solving builds relationships and can prevent escalation (it also reduces paperwork…). Transparency and engagement by all parties is key, and helps the earlier identification of the right solution.
All conditions on a premises licence should be necessary and proportionate. And there are a series of questions that good regulators ask about any potential risk. What is the nature of the risk? How likely is it that the risk will materialise? What is the effect of the risk materialising? And what – therefore – is a proportionate response to the risk?
Sometimes ‘no conditions required’ is an entirely appropriate and justified conclusion, that doesn’t need to be deferred by professionals to a licensing sub-committee. A contemporaneous clear note of why the decision was reached (including reference to evidence or lack of it) can be kept and be produced if challenged at a later date, for example, by a line manager or a member of the public. And if something does go wrong, then there is always the enforcement process available to reset the balance. That’s what it’s there for.
We often have calls with authorities where they say words to the effect of ‘just to let you know, we thought about this particular risk, but on balance we can’t go so far as to seek a condition but it’s something to keep an eye on in the future’. These types of conversations are not only incredibly helpful but also a proportionate response to the matter in hand.
A good website and licensing policy makes a world of difference to everyone. We would invite councils to check how genuinely ‘user friendly’ their websites are.
One thing that can cause a lot of inconvenience to operators lodging their own applications is the inability to find template public notices online. Non-compliant advertising can also cost operators significant sums of money. Many authorities may provide template blue and white notices for premises licence applications, but for some reason do not provide a pavement licence application public notice until after the application is lodged. That time can sometimes be days. Provision of the notice is then accompanied by a request that the notice completed, displayed and photographs sent in, within a very short period of time, under threat of starting the consultation process again.
Receiving application decisions quickly – whether they are positive or negative – also allows our client to plan their business at the earliest possible moment. Late decision are a particular source of frustration for our clients. Delays in decisions can translate into lost revenue. Simple changes can make a huge difference to both operators and council staff alike.
The NLPF confirms that “Licensing decisions should be based on clear, relevant evidence…Decisions to proceed to a hearing should be evidence-led” (para 5.2). This applies at every level a decision is made.
Applications for a new premises licence or to vary an existing licence, have a consultation period of 28 days. Objections by authorities that are accompanied by any supporting evidence they have at the time and that they intend to rely on allows us to have sensible conversations with them and our clients early on.
We still find authorities who proceed on the basis that “we’ll disclose what we have if we go to a hearing”. Licensing at the council level is not litigation, and this approach goes against transparency and partnership working. Of course, it might only be possible to gather relevant evidence ‘in the field’ at certain times. We simply ask it is gathered, collated and disclosed in a timely manner, rather than at the last minute before a hearing takes place. And if time is required to collate the evidence, then a telephone call or email in advance, to let us know what’s coming our way, is a practical and helpful stop-gap in the meantime.
The disclosure of evidence that is relevant is also helpful. It seems like an obvious thing to say but we still find some authorities – especially at review – doing a ‘data dump’, with the onus being placed on the operator to sift through the evidence and explain to the committee what isn’t relevant and why. This is clearly the wrong way round. The onus is on any party wishing to ‘make their case’ before a committee to explain why their evidence is relevant to their claims. It retains focus on the issue in hand and that way, we can have a sensible discussion with the authority, our client and – importantly – the committee about what is a sensible and proportionate way forward.
Get in touch today to find out how we can support your business with practical, expert advice on all licensing matters. Email the team on [email protected], or call 0161 832 3434.
That’s a wrap for National Licensing Week 2026. By this time next year, there will be a whole new set of licensing changes introduced so we look forward to seeing how the landscape looks then, what we have learned and how we can continue to improve things for operators.