Licensing Act 2003 - review of Licensing Policy (4 July - 29 August 2025)

View the draft Licensing Policy document »

4. 1. Under the Licensing Act 2003, licensing authorities are required to review their Licensing policy every five years. As our current policy expires on 6 January 2026 we need to review it and this includes completing a public consultation on the new document.
    This policy sets out how we will carry out our responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003 and outlines our approach to licensing premises that sell alcohol, provide regulated entertainment or serve hot food and drink late at night. It aims to promote the four key licensing objectives:
    
    the prevention of crime and disorder
    
    public safety
    
    the prevention of public nuisance
    
    the protection of children from harm
    
    We would therefore welcome any comments on the draft policy document during the consultation period which begins on 4 July 2025 and ends on 29 August 2025.
    
    At the end of the consultation period, any comments will be considered, and the policy amended as appropriate. Anyone wishing to make comments can do so by completing this short survey.
    
    The deadline for comments is 29 August 2025. Any comments received will be published as part of the policy adoption process.
    
    At Great Yarmouth Borough Council we take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to provide the services requested from us, as described in this Privacy Notice
    
    Privacy Notice
    
    Who we are
    Great Yarmouth Borough Council (the Council), Town Hall, Hall Plain Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 2QF, 01493 856100, is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR).
    Why we collect your data
    We will use your personal information for the purposes of issuing licences. The processing of this information is necessary for the Council to undertake a public task as defined under Article 6(1)(e) of the Act, i.e. the processing is necessary for the Council to perform a task in the public interest or for its official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law, in this case the Licensing Act 2003, Gambling Act 2005, Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, Animal Welfare Act, Town and Police Clauses Act, Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 and Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.
    What information we collect about you
    When you apply for a licence, registration or permit we require a range of details that may include:
    name
    contact details
    National Insurance number
    date of birth
    signature
    driving licence details
    medical certificate
    criminal conviction history
    ID documents to verify identity for Disclosure and Barring checks
    ID documents to prove Right to Work in the UK
    How we use this information about you
    We will use this information to:
    process applications
    remind licensees of renewals
    investigate complaints
    How we store your information and for how long
    Information will be stored carefully and may be held as a written record, kept on a computer as an electronic record, or as a printed record from our computer system.
    We will hold completed application forms and supporting documents during the lifetime of the licence.
    We will only use your data within the terms of data protection laws, will delete your data securely and only keep it for as long as necessary. We will review dates for keeping personal data in the future and if necessary update this privacy notice.
    When and why we share your information
    Your data will be used for the specific purposes outlined although your details will be shared between Council departments and other agencies where there is lawful authority to do so.
    This is a list of responsible authorities whom we may be required to share your data with:
    Norfolk Constabulary
    The fire authority
    the planning authority
    Environmental Health
    Trading Standards
    Child Protection
    Public Health
    Home Office
    Environment Agency
    Gambling Commission
    HM Revenue & Customs
    Taxis and private hire vehicles
    Under the Air Quality (Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles Database) (England and Wales) Regulations 2019, we are required to share taxi vehicle details with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
    The details that will be shared are:
    the registration number/mark
    the date from which the licence has effect
    whether the vehicle is a taxi or private hire vehicle
    the licence expiry date
    other information that is relevant for the purpose of ensuring the accurate identification of vehicles
    Our lawful ground for sharing this data with DEFRA is under Article 6 (1)(c) as part of our public task and is prescribed by the secondary legislation.
    Taxi and private hire drivers
    We provide information to the National Register of Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations (NR3), a mechanism for licensing authorities to share details of individuals who have had a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle (PHV) licence revoked, or an application for one refused. This is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the licensing authority - that is, assessing whether an individual is a fit and proper person to hold a hackney carriage or PHV licence.
    Information recorded on the NR3 will be limited to:
    name
    date of birth
    address and contact details
    National Insurance number
    decision taken
    Your rights
    You have a number or rights available to you, including the right to see copies of all the data held about you, to ask for it to be corrected or deleted, to request the Council to restrict what it does with your data in certain circumstances, to object to what the Council may do with your data, and to data portability.
    Please note that these rights are not absolute and there are circumstances where they do not apply or the Council may override these rights, however, if this is the case you will be informed of this.
    Further information
    If you want more information, you may contact the Council's Data Protection Officer, at gdpr@great-yarmouth.gov.uk or telephone the Council on 01493 846855 and ask to speak to the Data Protection Officer.
    If you are unhappy with the way your personal information is being handled, you can contact the independent Information Commissioner at: https://ico.org.uk.