The Responsible Authorities

TV Edwards can provide you with expert advice on Responsible Authorities.

TV Edwards have provided us with an exemplary service in acquiring premises licences for a number of our workspaces. They are communicative, transparent and highly effective and I would recommend their services to any similar business.

Steve Morrin, Managing Director – Sustainable Workspaces

Under the Licensing Act 2003, the Responsible Authorities have a key role to play in the granting and review of Premises Licenses and the granting of Temporary Events Notices.

The Responsible Authorities consist of the police and a mixture of central and local government departments.

Responsible Authorities are automatically notified of all new applications for a premises licence. They’re often the first to make representations or objections to the granting of a new licence.  They are often the first bodies to instigate review proceedings against licence holders.

Responsible Authorities are experts in their respective fields, but they are able to make representations about applications with regards to any of the licensing objectives if they have evidence to support those representations. Local authorities and their licensing subcommittees rely heavily of the responsible authorities for their advice and expertise.

The Responsible Authorities are:

• The Police
• The Licensing Authority
• Environmental Health
• Child Protection Teams
• Trading Standards
• Fire Safety Regulation
• Planning
• Public Health Authority
• Immigration Enforcement (The Home Office)

How we can help

Dealing with responsible authorities can be a daunting prospect for an applicant or an existing licence holder.  Each authority has its own specialist interest, although there is often a degree of ‘cross over’ with other departments. In some local authorities, the different departments do not communicate well with each other which can give rise to confusion or delay. They are powerful entities with the power to scupper your application or request that your licence be revoked.  Thankfully, the Licensing team at TV Edwards are on hand to help you.  In many local authorities we know the individuals involved very well having dealt with so many cases over the years.  We pride ourselves on forging good professional links with the authorities so that we are better able to put our client’s case across and fight their corner when we need to.  We can successfully negotiate with the different teams and get them speaking to each other.

We know what these teams like to see in applications and the sorts of things that concern them. We are skilled negotiators who can forge agreement on licence conditions so that our clients can operate in the way that they want to.

Recent cases

We recently represented a shisha lounge and restaurant which has attracted the interest of three different local authority departments, complaints from local residents and the police.  By taking proactive steps we identified the concerns and moved swiftly to resolve them.  We facilitated good lines of communication between the different departments and moved them towards a satisfactory negotiated resolution for our client.

Fees

Our Licensing fees vary depending on the complexity of each case. Every case is different. Some applications will be very straightforward whist others might be extremely complex. Factors will include whether the licence sought is for a premises in a cumulative impact zone, whether the application deviates from local authority policies, whether local objections are anticipated and how novel or unusual the application is. Further information on our Licensing fees can be found here. Contact us today for a no obligation estimate of our fees in your case.