The Hackney Council Licensing Committee met on 16 July 2025 to discuss the Licensing Service Annual Report, and to answer questions from the public and councillors.

Licensing Service Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to review the Licensing Service Annual Report 2023/24 and 2024/25, which provides an overview of the Licensing Service's activities and performance over the past two years, and outlines aims and targets for the upcoming year. According to the report, the Licensing Service is responsible for:

• The development and review of alcohol and entertainment licensing
• Gambling and sex establishment policies
• Providing guidance and assistance on the various licensing, registration and permitting processes.
• Enforcement of licensing legislation, shared with other regulatory partners.
• Conducting inspections of premises to ensure compliance with authorisations and advise businesses of their responsibilities.
• Investigations into complaints of alleged unauthorised activity.
• Taking formal enforcement actions when merited and in accordance with the Council's Enforcement Policy the Regulators Code.
• Acting as a responsible authority on behalf of the Licensing Authority as defined under the Licensing Act 2003¹ and the Gambling Act 2005².

The report highlights that the Licensing Service generated £978,821 in income during 2023/24, with £450,407 attributed to the late night levy³. In 2024/25, the service generated £1,020,981, with £447,980 from the late night levy.

The annual statistics for the years 2023/24 and 2024/25, included as an appendix to the report, show a number of trends:

• The number of new premises licence applications received has increased for the last three years.
• The number of minor variation applications remained relatively stable.
• The number of licences being transferred between operators peaked during 2023/24 before seeing a slight decrease during 2024/25.
• The overall number of standard and late Temporary Event Notices (TENs) increased year-over-year as activity began to normalise after the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The number of review applications appears to have returned to normal levels after peaking in 2021/22 and remaining high during 2022/23.
• Grants of personal licences remained on trend continuing to decrease over time.
• The number of Licensing Sub-Committees fell in 2023/24 before increase again during 2024/25.
• New and renewed Massage and Special Treatments (MST) premises licences continue to show levels returning to those seen pre-pandemic.

The report also details projects planned by the service last year, including:

• A Cumulative Impact Assessment and review of the Statement of Licensing Policy
• Input into the development of a Hackney Nights Strategy
• Re-introduction of regular risk-based inspections of licensed premises
• Salesforce Implementation

Planned activity for 2025/26 includes continued system implementation, working with colleagues in ICT and other regulatory services to automate processes and promote customer channel shift.

Other Business

The agenda included opportunities for councillors and members of the public to ask questions of the committee.