Have your say on licensing fees consultation

A public consultation has been launched by the Home Office in relation to the fees payable for licensing applications.

Since 2005 licensing fees have been set nationally, but under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 it is now possible for the fees to be set locally. This would allow individual licensing authorities to determine the level of cost in their own area.

The main points for discussion include what level the cost should be capped at for each fee category, whether there should be variable fee levels depending on the type of premises, what mechanisms should be in place to ensure that fee levels are set fairly and transparently and, finally, whether to have a single national payment date for annual fees.

The Home Office is particularly keen to receive responses from licensing authorities and fee paying licensees, but of course anyone can comment. The consultation runs until 10 April 2014 and can be viewed online.