Licensing authorities in England and Wales (district, metropolitan and county councils, the police and central goverment departments) exercise a large number of licensing and registration functions covering a wide range of activities, including alcohol, entertainment, gambling, firearms, consumer credit, taxis, coaches, housing, pleasure boats or even radio transmissions.

These regimes are implemented for the protection of the public and the communities they serve, generally to prevent crime and disorder; prevent public nuisance, and to protect the vulnerable, the environment or the financial interests of consumers.  

They also provide consumer protections, by ensuring for example that taxis are mechanically safe, alcohol is not sold to children, and that charity donations reach the intended recipients.

Why the Institute of Licensing?
In 1996 the Local Government Licensing Forum was formed by a number of local government officers from various professional backgrounds, to enable officers to:

• exchange information
• give mutual support
• provide training in licensing matters
• act as a collective, respected and powerful voice at government levels on areas of concern.

In 2003, recognising the continuing needs for a professional organisation to serve the interests of practitioners in local government and elsewhere (such as the police, private sector and the legal profession) the Institute of Licensing was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee.   A year later, it incorporated the Society of Licensing Practitioners, a body with similar aims to our own, and in 2006 we became a registered charity.

The Institute responds to the needs of the membership in respect of the significance attached to different areas of licensing.  The stated objectives of the organisation are set out in the company's Memorandum & Article of Association for the benefit of the publicas follows:

• to advance the development, evaluation and recognition of professional skill, technical competency, ethical conduct and practical achievement in the field of licensing and regulatory activity; including their application in the public and private sectors and in the framing and enforcement of laws and regulations in pursuit of prevention of crime disorder and nuisance, the promotion of health and safety, the protection of children and vulnerable people, the protection of the environment and other licensing and regulatory objectives;
• the fostering of mutual understanding and respect between practitioners and the communities and sectors they serve;
• the development, encouragement and certification of related standards, education, training, study, scholarship, communication, consultation, knowledge creation and information dissemination; and 
• other activity consistent with the public good in the field.

Our regions
The main working venues for the Institute are regional groups.  These are large enough to be effective, but compact enough to allow easy access within the region to meetings for members.  These have a small committee, normally of a chair, secretary and treasurer.

Members can attend meetings in any region, no matter where they live or work. 

Annual meetings
Each region holds an annual general meeting to elect the committee.  In addition, a national AGM and training day is held, and these are held around the country to enable as many Members as possible to attend.
 
Annual conferences
In November 1997, the first national Public Protection and Licensing conference was held at the Home Office Emergency Planning College in Easingwold, Yorkshire over four days.  Over fifty delegates attended and had the opportunity to hear a wide range of speakers, on a wider range of topics. 

This is now firmly established as an annual event, with successive conferences being held in Stockport (twice), Swansea, Torquay, Newcastle, Peterborough, Blackpool, York and Brighton. 

Well-known speakers frequently address these events, such as the chairman of the Gaming Board for Great Britain and the chief executives of the Security Industry Authority, Security Industry Authority and the Football Licensing Authority.  Ministers of state addressed the 2006 and 2007 conferences.
 

We were particularly pleased that the Civic Trust choose our 2007 conference in Bristol to launch their Purple Flag award for the management of the night-time economy, which many licensing practitioners are intricately involved in, and that LACORS (the Local Authorities’ Co-Ordinators of Regulatory Services) choose the event to launch a new handbook for local government councillors. 

Training
An important element of the Institute is training, and in addition to the conference we organise residential training courses each day, to provide the fundamentals of some of the more common licensing regimes to new entrants to the profession or those who want to refresh their memories of basic concepts.

We are delighted to be able fully endorse and support the Certificate of Higher Education in Licensing Law which had significant input from the Institute in its’ formulation.  Offered initially at Birmingham University in April 2002, it is now offered at Warwick University and has had intakes of students each spring since then. 

In April 2006 the Institute announced a partnership with the British Institute of Innkeeping to produce a suite of accredited qualifications for licensing practitioners, leading up to the Certificate of Higher Education. 

In addition, training on specific areas of licensing, and new developments are also addressed.   In 2006, we held a successful two-day conference on the Gambling Act 2005 in London, attended by over three hundred regulators and trade representatives.  This was followed in 2007 with highly successful Surgeries in Greenwich and in York on the Gambling Act. 

In 2008, further activities are being planned on the management of the night-time economy.