The leader of Westminster City Council, Sir Simon Milton, has said that certain fundamental changes need to be made to the Licensing Act by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to ensure a smoother implementation of the law.

Speaking at a Local Government Association conference on 5 July, Sir Simon said there were three main areas of concern that have arisen since implementation of the act began seven months ago.

The three main areas needing refocusing are the fee structure, which needs to be reworked as the taxpayer picks up the shortfall, currently standing at around £3.6m. The government also needs to fulfil its promise of a full review of guidance on the act, due to be published this summer, and, finally, needs to reform Temporary Event Notices (TEN) to avoid loopholes.

According to Sir Simon, if premises are turned down by the Licensing Sub-Committee, it is possible to take advantage of the TEN system as no application is necessary to hold an event – the local authority simply needs to be notified.

Sir Simon also believes that the DCMS has failed to understand how and why local authorities have been hindered from carrying out their work under the new Act and that it is too early for the DCMS to “herald a bright new dawn”.

He said: “Local authorities have been given very little discretion and have been hindered from carrying out their work in some instances due to the prescriptive nature of the act.

“However, by having a robust licensing policy in Westminster, we have managed to keep a lid on the worst excesses that were predicted and we have not lost an appeal yet in our stress areas.

“The DCMS must now show that it understands the challenges that local authorities face and not just concentrate on the wishes of the licensed trade.” Details: www.westminster.gov.uk