Section 10 – Local Licensing Forums
27.Subsection (1) places a duty on each council to establish a Local Licensing Forum for its area. The establishment of these forums is new and should enhance the local Board’s awareness of both the beneficial and detrimental impact of their policies in particular on the local community and on local trade. Where a local authority has split their area into separate licensing divisions, subsection (2) allows for the establishment of a separate Local Licensing Forum for each of those divisions.
28.Subsection (3) provides that there should as a minimum be at least one formal annual meeting between the Board and the local Forum. This is important to ensure that a relationship is established between these bodies.