The Licensing Committee of Ealing Council scheduled a meeting to discuss licensing policy, hearing updates, enforcement, and gambling licensing policy. The meeting was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, at Perceval House.

Licensing Policy Hearing and Enforcement Update

The committee was scheduled to discuss licensing decisions made between June and September 2025, as well as enforcement and compliance activities related to licensed premises. The report pack included key changes to the Statement of Licensing Policy 2025, which came into effect on 27 July 2025. These included:

• Changes to Special Policy Areas (SPAs):
  • The northern arm of the Acton SPA was scheduled to be removed along Horn Lane.
  • The Ealing and Hanwell SPAs were scheduled to be merged into a single, larger area incorporating West Ealing town centre.
  • SPA boundaries were scheduled to be redefined based on Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) boundaries[^1]. [^1]: Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are a geographic hierarchy designed to improve the reporting of small area statistics in England and Wales.
• Updated management conditions: Detailed example management conditions were scheduled to be removed from the main policy document and maintained as a separate, regularly updated online resource.
• Male Violence Against Women and Girls (MVAWG): The new Licensing Policy requires certain venues to commit to the Mayor's Women's Night Safety Charter. It has also been revised to reinforce the responsibility of venues to safeguard women's welfare and prevent male violence against women and girls (MVAWG), including a requirement for adequate staff training. Additionally, the Policy strengthens the obligations of premises licensed to sell alcohol for off-site consumption, requiring them to implement measures that prevent street drinking and public congregation - issues that can contribute to feelings of insecurity, particularly among women in public spaces.
• Modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT): The 2025 Statement of Licensing Policy now explicitly addresses modern slavery. It outlines the expectation for licensed venues to recognise indicators of modern slavery, reinforcing their role in identifying potential victims. This aligns with broader efforts to combat violence against women and girls (MVAWG) in the borough.
• Events and large venues: The Policy introduces strengthened safety requirements for organisers of larger events, with a particular focus on ensuring events are planned and delivered in line with a comprehensive Event Management Plan (EMP). It also incorporates new security considerations for larger venues, in anticipation of the upcoming Martyn's Law (Protect Duty) legislation, which will require venues to take proportionate steps to reduce the risk of terrorist attacks.
• Delivery services: The Policy introduced stronger requirements specifically for businesses offering online alcohol delivery services. While existing licensing objectives remain, the updated policy focuses on preventing public nuisance and harm to children related to these services.

The report pack also included an overview of Licensing Sub Committee decisions made under the Licensing Act 2003 between 16 June 2025 and 25 September 2025. During this period, the sub-committee made decisions on the following:

• New Premises Licence: 3 (2 granted, 1 refused)
• Variation to a Premises Licence, Transfer and change of DPS: 1 (granted)
• Review of a Premises Licence: 2 (both suspended)
• Summary Review of a Premises Licence: 1 (additional conditions)
• Temporary Events Notice: 1 (granted)

Gambling Licensing Policy Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the commencement of work to review the Statement of Gambling Policy. The Gambling Act 2005 requires the council to publish a Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy at least every three years, with the current statement due for renewal by 29 June 2026. The 'no casino' resolution, which has been in place since 2012, was also due for renewal.

The report pack noted that as of September 2025, there were:

• 52 betting shops
• 12 adult gaming centres
• 2 bingo premises
• 74 notifications of automatic entitlement for gaming machine
• 24 alcohol licensed gaming machine permits
• 0 family entertainment centre permits
• 13 club machine permits
• 54 small society lotteries

The report pack also mentioned the government's Gambling White Paper, High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age, published in April 2023, which sets out reforms to online gambling and strengthens protections for vulnerable individuals. Key reforms include the introduction of affordability checks, stake limits, and enhanced consumer safeguards. Some legislative changes began to take effect in July 2025, particularly those relating to gaming machine requirements and table ratios in casinos.

The report pack outlined a proposed timeline for policy renewal:

• October - December 2025: Preparation of the first draft policy and consultation framework.
• 13 January 2026: Licensing Committee to agree a first draft of the renewed policy and instruct consultation to begin.
• January – February 2026: Statutory consultation.
• February – March 2026: Preparation of final draft, considering representations and consultation responses.
• 15 April 2026: Licensing Committee to recommend adoption of the final draft by Full Council.
• Full Council date to be announced but before 01 June 2026: Adoption of the renewed policy by Full Council.