Why an update to licensing rules is long overdue
By Councillor Lee McStein, lead cabinet member for crime prevention
A motion submitted to Full Council in July called for greater powers for licensing authorities (like Wigan Council’s) to respond effectively to issues linked to licensed premises (such as pubs, bars and restaurants).
Such changes would support faster, smarter enforcement while balancing the rights of responsible licence holders with the safety and wellbeing of local communities.
This is what Councillor McStein told colleagues as he presented his motion – which was subsequently approved – at the meeting.
“The Licensing Act of 2003 is the legislation used by our licensing and regulation team, but it’s now 20 years old.
"It's drafted in a different time and under vastly different circumstances.
"Today, the enforcement realities in our communities and the scale of the challenges that we face have changed dramatically.
"What hasn't changed though, unfortunately, is the legal framework that we're expected to operate within. It's slow, it's limited in scope, and it's all too often open to exploitation.
"Within our borough we need an urgent reset, one that gives licensing authorities like ours real tools to protect our communities and support our responsible businesses.
"One key issue is the lack of rapid response powers that are available to our teams at present. Our ability to act swiftly in response to breaches and low-level offending is extremely limited.
"Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) are currently reserved for very narrow offenses such as selling alcohol to under 18s or intoxicated individuals and are typically only issued by police.
"We believe licensing authorities should have the ability to issue FPNs for a wider range of licensing breaches.
"To be clear, this is not to penalise people indiscriminately, it's to intervene early and proportionately when things go wrong, which should curb a slide into irresponsible behaviour from unscrupulous licensed premises operators.
"In more serious cases, there should be a provision for the temporary suspension of a license until remedial action is taken. If we're to protect the safety and wellbeing of our communities, we need tools that allow us to act immediately and not after a lengthy and often costly process.
"An urgent quick fix is the improvement of the section 19 closure notice process. Currently, this only applies to premises where alcohol is sold for on-premises consumption like pubs or late-night restaurants. But it doesn't cover off licensed premises where alcohol is purchased and then consumed elsewhere.
"This means we're often powerless to take direct action against off licenses or licensed premises that are selling alcohol irresponsibly, even when they are clearly evidenced to be contributing to local anti-social behaviour (ASB) issues.
"Expanding this section 19 legislation will help us to close this glaring gap and directly combat some of the problems with ASB and other low-level offending, including street drinking, which is often fuelled by the unscrupulous selling of single cans and high strength alcohol.
"We also need to look at the mandatory conditions that are available particularly for older licenses and especially older off licensed premises, which were granted many, many years ago, and often lack any conditions at all. These licenses don't reflect the realities of today's communities, and many simply aren't equipped to deal with the changing levels of street drinking, ASB, or alcohol related harm to our local communities.
"Finally, the license review process itself needs urgent reform. As it stands, the review process we currently use is too slow, is costly in terms of resources, and far too easily manipulated.
"It requires substantial evidence, it consumes vast amounts of officer time and our public resource and can be effectively undermined simply by the act of transferring a license to a new owner, mid review process, often with empty promises of: ‘Oh, they'll do something differently.’
"Well, that's not a result for our enforcement teams or our communities, and it's clearly an exploitable loophole.
"Now, we're not calling for heavy handed regulation on all our businesses. We're calling for smarter, faster, more responsive tools.
"Enforcement shouldn't be about cracking down harder on people. It should be about acting earlier, more effectively, and in ways that actually reflect the needs of our communities and the pressure on our teams.
"This is about giving our licensing teams the tools to protect our communities while supporting good practice from many of our local businesses. And I urge all colleagues here tonight to back this motion.
"Help us push for legislative change that we urgently need.”
Councillor McStein’s motion was approved. It included the following actions:
Wigan Council resolves to:
- Write to the Secretary of State for the Home Office and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, calling for a full and urgent review of the Licensing Act 2003.
- Request that the review includes:
- Introduction of rapid response powers such as Fixed Penalty Notices and temporary licence suspensions
- Expansion and simplification of the Section 19 closure notice process
- Stronger mandatory conditions for older licences, particularly off-licences
- Reform of the licence review process to reduce delays and close legal loopholes.
- Share this motion with local Members of Parliament and request their support in advocating for legislative change
- Continue collaborating with regional partners to push for licensing reform that better reflects the needs of communities and enforcement bodies.
Posted on Wednesday 30th July 2025