The Licensing Committee of Westminster Council met on Wednesday 7th February 2024 to approve revised premises licensing fees for the upcoming financial year. The committee also reviewed previous meeting minutes and noted changes to its membership.

Premises Licensing Fee Review 2024-2025

The committee approved proposed amendments to premises licensing fees, which will come into effect on 1 April 2024. The Head of Service for Licensing and Regulatory Services explained that these revised fees are intended to enable the Council to recover its reasonable costs for administering, monitoring, and enforcing various licensing regimes.

When setting fees, there is a statutory requirement to compare income received against the overall cost of delivering a licensing scheme. The committee was informed that fees must be set to cover the actual costs incurred by the Council, without generating a profit.

A key consideration in the fee review was the requirement to set Premises Licensing fees for certain regimes, including those for massage and special treatment premises and sex establishments, in two parts. This approach follows a Supreme Court ruling in the Hemming Case and is in compliance with the Provisions of Services Regulations 2009¹. These regulations implement the EU Services Directive into UK law, requiring that licensing fees be reasonable and proportionate to the costs of processing applications. The two-part fee structure involves a non-refundable Part A fee for processing and determining applications, and a Part B fee for monitoring and enforcement, payable if the application is successful.

The report detailing the proposed fees can be found in the Premises Licensing Fee review 2023 - Final document.

Membership and Minutes

The committee noted changes to its membership, with Councillors Ed Pitt Ford and Amanda Langford replacing Councillors Jim Glen and Jackie Wilkinson. Councillor Maggie Carman, serving as Vice-Chair, chaired the meeting in the absence of Councillor Aziz Toki, with Councillor Jessica Toale substituting for him. Apologies were received from Councillors Caroline Sargent, Ed Pitt Ford, and Amanda Langford. The minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 December 2023 were approved with minor amendments, including correcting the spelling of Councillor Hamza Taouzzale's name and clarifying a substitution.