Institute of Licensing contact Minister over worrying lack of progress on gov.uk forms

The Institute of Licensing (The IoL) and the National Association of Licensing and Enforcement Officers (NALEO) have submitted a joint letter to Jeremy Quinn MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, regarding the worrying lack of progress in determining the future of the gov.uk forms used for many types of licensing application.

The IoL and NALEO previously wrote to the Cabinet Office in January 2021 regarding the Government’s plans to discontinue the gov.uk forms, which are widely in use across England and Wales. The Government’s response was the forms would continue to be in use until March 2022. This was later extended to March 2025.

The IoL and NALEO have expressed concern that much of the good work achieved has been undone following internal changes at the Cabinet Office. They have asked the Cabinet Office to confirm this is not the case.

On the possibility of the gov.uk forms being discontinued the IoL and NALEO say:

“While the online licensing forms are admittedly not perfect, they are substantially better than no system at all and provide a national portal for licence applicants (or their representatives) to go to in the first instance. Ending the system is a retrograde step for all concerned and removes a rare point of consistency between many councils.”

If you would like to read the full letter sent by The IoL and NALEO then you can access it here: https://instituteoflicensing.org/media/wnedjmpz/cabinet-office-re-gov-uk-licensing-forums-iol-and-naleo-08112023.pdf