Statement of Licensing Policy
Dear Uttlesford District Council,
Further to my previous request regarding the expired Statement of Licensing Policy (SLP), please state what part of the Licensing Act 2003 and Statutory Instruments the Authority
1. Relies upon to operate a licensing regime without a current SLP in place? (The previous SLP expired over 6 months ago).
2. Is entitled to undertake a backdated statutory consultation process on a SLP (i.e. 2022-2027)?
3. Did not commence a statutory consultation process in May 2022 as required, to ensure a valid SLP remained in place?
4. Has this failure been hidden from Elected Representatives including the Licensing Committee, Full Council, and the Secretary of State? If not when were they informed?
Yours faithfully,
David Bevan
Dear David Bevan,
Thank you for your request for information which Uttlesford District Council received on 16 May 2023. Your request has been allocated the Councils reference of 23-312.
Your request is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act Regulations and will be answered within 20 working days. In the event that your request is considered complex you may be advised at an early stage in the process that an extension of the normal 20 day timeline will be necessary and the reasons for any extension will be explained to you.
Your request will now be forwarded to the Service Area best placed to supply an appropriate response to your request for information and you should expect to receive your response by 13 June 2023, unless you are advised otherwise.
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Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Team
Uttlesford District Council
Council Offices
London Road
Saffron Walden
Essex CB11 4ER
T: 01799 510510
E: [Uttlesford District Council request email]
facebook.com/UttlesfordDC
twitter.com/UttlesfordDC
Good Afternoon
Thank you for your request for information, which has been considered and
actioned under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information you
requested is shown below:
Further to my previous request regarding the expired Statement of
Licensing Policy (SLP), please state what part of the Licensing Act 2003
and Statutory Instruments the Authority
1. Relies upon to operate a licensing regime without a current SLP in
place? (The previous SLP expired over 6 months ago).
The current licensing policy statement was subject to a review in 2022 but
this has taken longer than anticipated with the new policy (SLP) currently
out for consultation. Licensing objectives that must be considered for
licence applications are not reliant on the statement of policy but are
stated with legislation. We have received legal advice that the existing
policy remains in place until formally superseded.
2. Is entitled to undertake a backdated statutory consultation process on
a SLP (i.e. 2022-2027)?
The 2022 date is given on the policy statement currently out for
consultation to maintain continuity with the existing policy statement.
The option to redate will be highlighted to Committee members at the time
of presentation of the consultation findings.
3. Did not commence a statutory consultation process in May 2022 as
required, to ensure a valid SLP remained in place?
Work began on reviewing the policy in 2022 including benchmarking with
other local authorities to ensure/ verify a consistency of approach and
strength of policy. I anticipate that working post Covid lockdowns may
have slowed down the process as Councils adjusted to addressing risk-based
priorities and backlogging. Once all benchmarking had been completed the
policy was circulated for a 12 week consultation period which will
conclude at the end of July 2023.
4. Has this failure been hidden from Elected Representatives including the
Licensing Committee, Full Council, and the Secretary of State? If not when
were they informed?
There has been no intent or action to hide anything by the Licensing
team. After taking legal advice our understanding is that the old policy
remains in force and valid until superseded.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries or
concerns.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your request, please let us
know. If we are unable to resolve the matter quickly then you may wish to
pursue this through the Councils complaints procedure and request an
internal review be undertaken. Internal review requests should be
submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to
your original letter and should be addressed to: [1][Uttlesford District Council request email].
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 700 Website:
[2]www.ico.org.uk.
Regards
Julie Howe
Environmental Health Admin Assistant - Commercial
Uttlesford District Council
Council Offices
London Road
Saffron Walden
Essex CB11 4ER
T: 01799 510578
E: [3][email address]
[4]www.uttlesford.gov.uk
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2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/
Dear Julie Howe,
1. Please advise on th exact date in 2022, when UDC commenced its required public consultation on the SLP, especially in light of the fact the response provided by UDC showed it did not commence it until May 2023? (I trust the Authority has not willfully provided misleading information in a FOI on a public website?)
2. Please direct me to the precise section of legislation under the 2003 Act and/or the subsequent Statutory Instrument UDC relies upon in its public response to enable a SLP to:-
a) expire and the consequences of that?
b) not having to be renewed the SLP within 5 years?
c) the right to continue to use an expired SLP, which has not been agreed by the Licensing Committee, Full Council or with the consent of the Secretary of State?
Yours sincerely,
David Bevan
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--------------------------------
Dear Uttlesford District Council,
Can you kindly respond appropriately to my request.
UDC's SLP expired at the beginning of November 2022, and subsequently the Authority has been operating a licensing system for all parties that undertake licensing activities without a legal policy in place, contrary to the Licensing Act 2003, specifically Section 5? What legislation does UDC rely upon to be enabled to use an expired policy for licensing purposes
Yours faithfully,
David Bevan
Dear David Bevan
Thank you for your request for information which Uttlesford District Council received on 15 June 2023. Your request has been allocated the Councils reference of 23-380.
Your request is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations and will be answered within 20 working days. In the event that your request is considered complex you may be advised at an early stage in the process that an extension of the normal 20 day timeline will be necessary and the reasons for any extension will be explained to you.
Your request will now be forwarded to the Service Area best placed to supply an appropriate response to your request for information and you should expect to receive your response by 13 July 2023 unless you are advised otherwise.
If you have any queries about your request do not hesitate to contact me.
Your privacy:- We use your personal information such as name and email address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests. For further details about the use of information by the Council please see our privacy notice on the Councils website https://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/privacy-no....
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Team
Uttlesford District Council
Council Offices
London Road
Saffron Walden
Essex CB11 4ER
T: 01799 510510
E: [Uttlesford District Council request email]
facebook.com/UttlesfordDC
twitter.com/UttlesfordDC
Good Afternoon
Thank you for your request for information, which has been considered and
actioned under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information you
requested is shown below:
UDC's SLP expired at the beginning of November 2022, and subsequently the
Authority has been operating a licensing system for all parties that
undertake licensing activities without a legal policy in place, contrary
to the Licensing Act 2003, specifically Section 5? What legislation does
UDC rely upon to be enabled to use an expired policy for licensing
purposes
Uttlesford Council 2017 - 2022 licensing statement states "This Statement
sets out the general approach the Authority will be taking when making
licensing decisions during the five-year period up to December 2022".
An LA is required to prepare and publish a statement at least every 5
years and such a policy must be published before the authority carries out
any function in respect of individual applications and notices. Equally
where revisions to the section 182 guidance are made by the secretary of
state it will be for the licensing authority to determine whether
revisions of its own licensing policy statement are appropriate. New
guidance was issued under section 182 of the Act 2003 in December 2022
with an update in January 2023 this was considered as part of the review
together with other matters to ensure the policy was as strong as
possible.
Both the 2017 -2022 policy and the revised draft policy have been
published on the Councils website.
The review was completed in 2023 and the revised policy is out for
consultation to conclude in July 2023. Consultations to be effective
require sufficiency of time.
It would not be appropriate to publish a policy, without consideration of
both new guidance and ensuring that a review was as comprehensive as
possible to ensure the strength of the policy .
Legal advice was provided that existing policy remained in force until
superseded.
The primary legislation covering licensing objectives to be considered in
determining decisions is section 4 Licensing Act 2003. The local Authority
continues to have regard to these objectives in any decision-making
process. UDC do not have a cumulative impact policy or late-night levy etc
so ensure that decisions made do not rely on the policy and hinge on the
Licensing Objectives
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries or
concerns.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your request, please let us
know. If we are unable to resolve the matter quickly then you may wish to
pursue this through the Councils complaints procedure and request an
internal review be undertaken. Internal review requests should be
submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to
your original letter and should be addressed to: [1][Uttlesford District Council request email].
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 700 Website:
[2]www.ico.org.uk.
Regards
Julie Howe
Environmental Health Administrative Officer - Commercial
Uttlesford District Council
Council Offices
London Road
Saffron Walden
Essex CB11 4ER
T: 01799 510578
E: [3][email address]
[4]www.uttlesford.gov.uk
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1. mailto:[Uttlesford District Council request email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/
Dear Julie Howe,
On behalf of Uttlesford District Council you have failed to answer the question transparently.
The answer is contradictory.
No lawful "existing" policy is in place to permit the Authority to undertake licensing activities, a vital duty to protect members of the public, which an Authority must renew at least every five years. The policy expired in November 2022.
Please provide urgently the specific legislation within the Licensing Act 2003 or Statutory Instruments, that the Authority relies upon to operate a licensing regime on an expired policy, especially as legal advice speaks of an existing policy being in place and not an expired one. (Guidance provided by UDC published December 2022 and January 2023, does not negate an Authority's statutory duty to renew it SLP at least every 5 years.)
Has the Authority referred itself to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP for the serious failure to review a mandatory policy and instead permitted it to expire?
Yours sincerely,
David Bevan
Good Afternoon
Thank you for your request for information, which has been considered and
actioned under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information you
requested is shown below:
1. Please advise on the exact date in 2022, when UDC commenced its
required public consultation on the SLP, especially in light of the fact
the response provided by UDC showed it did not commence it until May 2023?
(I trust the Authority has not willfully provided misleading information
in a FOI on a public website?)
2. Please direct me to the precise section of legislation under the 2003
Act and/or the subsequent Statutory Instrument UDC relies upon in its
public response to enable a SLP to:-
a) expire and the consequences of that?
b) not having to be renewed the SLP within 5 years?
c) the right to continue to use an expired SLP, which has not been agreed
by the Licensing Committee, Full Council or with the consent of the
Secretary of State?
Section 5 of the licensing Act does state an LA is required to prepare and
publish a statement at least every 5 years and such a policy must be
published before the authority carries out any function in respect of
individual applications and notices. Equally where revisions to the
section 182 guidance are made by the secretary of state it will be for the
licensing authority to determine whether revisions of its own licensing
policy statement are appropriate. As stated above, new guidance was issued
under section 182 of the Act 2003 in December 2022 with an update in
January 2023, this was considered as part of the review together with
other matters to ensure the policy was as strong as possible. Both the
2017 -2022 policy and the revised draft policy have been published on the
Councils website.
It would not be appropriate to publish a policy, without consideration of
both new guidance and ensuring that a review was as comprehensive as
possible to ensure the strength of the policy .
Legal advice was provided in November 2022 that existing policy remained
in force until superseded. Subsequent legal advice has confirmed that the
previous policy should continue to be used and roll over until the new
policy is implemented and there would be no difference to an application
being listed during a consultation period for a new policy and at the end
of a policy expiring .
The primary legislation covering licensing objectives to be considered in
determining decisions is section 4 Licensing Act 2003. The local Authority
continues to have regard to these objectives in any decision-making
process. Licencing Committee will consider the new policy for adoption and
any consultation responses at the conclusion of the consultation process.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries or
concerns.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your request, please let us
know. If we are unable to resolve the matter quickly then you may wish to
pursue this through the Councils complaints procedure and request an
internal review be undertaken. Internal review requests should be
submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to
your original letter and should be addressed to: [1][Uttlesford District Council request email].
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 700 Website:
[2]www.ico.org.uk.
Regards
Julie Howe
Environmental Health Administrative Oficer - Commercial
Uttlesford District Council
Council Offices
London Road
Saffron Walden
Essex CB11 4ER
T: 01799 510578
E: [3][email address]
[4]www.uttlesford.gov.uk
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
References
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1. mailto:[Uttlesford District Council request email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/
Dear Julie Howe,
For clarity is the Authority confirming it is still undertaking licensing activities when its Statement of Licensing Policy expired on the 30th November 2022?
I accept SLPs reflect Government Guidance, hence the ability for them to be reviewed at least every 5 years to reflect that Guidance. but UDC's response constitutes a red herring. The Council's SLP expired, so in law, it cannot rely on a SLP that no longer exists as confirmed to me by the Home Office and the DCMS, nor can a SLP be consulted upon retrospectively i.e. 2022 - 2027. Therefore does UDC now accept it is acting unlawfully by undertaking licensing functions?
Will UDC refer themselves to the Home Office and DCMS forthwith?
Yours sincerely,
David Bevan
--------------------------------
This is an automated response to thank you for your email which has just been received.
We aim to respond fully to all emails from the public as soon as possible, where they are seeking a response. However, please note that if your enquiry is particularly complicated or requires substantial investigation then it may take up to 10 working days to provide you with a full and accurate response.
You may wish to see if your enquiry can be dealt with online at www.uttlesford.gov.uk. The Council's website enables payments to be made online as well as providing comprehensive information.
Please do not reply to this automated response.
--------------------------------
Dear David Bevan,
freedom of information act 2000 – information request
I refer to your emails dated 06 and 10 July 2023 sent via
Whatdotheyknow.com. Your emails appear to be a general enquiry rather than
a request for information held by the council and therefore have been
logged as a general enquiry and not an FOI.
The Freedom of Information Act allows individuals the right to receive
information from Public Authorities if held within their records. It does
not require public authorities to create new documents and new responses
to answer questions, nor does it require officers to give their views on
particular issues.
Please send your enquiries regarding nuisance, public health matters to
Environmental Health Protection and matters relating to Food hygiene to EH
Commercial ( Food Hygiene etc)
to [1][email address]. For Licensing, please
direct them to [2][email address] . For potential breaches of
licensing conditions, please use [3][email address]
The general email contact for planning
is [4][email address] and for planning enforcement issues
please use [5][email address] for general enquiries.
Means by which to contact the relevant sections are also available via the
Councils website. We will then endeavour to assist you and provide prompt
attention through the course of normal Council business.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original reply and should be addressed to: [6][Uttlesford District Council request email].
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 700 Website:
[7]www.ico.org.uk.
Regards
Julie Howe
Environmental Health Administartive Officer - Commercial
Uttlesford District Council
Council Offices
London Road
Saffron Walden
Essex CB11 4ER
T: 01799 510578
E: [8][email address]
[9]www.uttlesford.gov.uk
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