New immigration requirements will impose 'very heavy burdens' on licensing authorities, says expert

The 2016 Immigration Act, which obtained Royal Assent last month, will lead to a number of amendments to the Scottish alcohol, late night catering and taxi and private hire licensing regimes, according to licensing law expert Audrey Ferrie of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. These amendments are not yet in force and the date for the changes to come into force is to be appointed.

New rules requiring licensing authorities to ensure that applicants have the right to work in the UK before granting a taxi or private hire licence are included in the Immigration Act, and will apply throughout the UK. The new alcohol-related requirements in the Act will only apply in England and Wales, although draft regulations (12-page / 125KB PDF) have been published which would extend the same requirements to Scotland.

"From an initial reading, the draft regulations appear to impose a very heavy burden on already stretched local authorities for, at best, an uncertain return - they would have to notify the Secretary of State of virtually ever application for a new licence, transfer or review," said Ferrie.

"Is it likely that holders of premises licences or even personal licence holders will be illegal workers? Possibly a few – but I would have thought that it was more likely that there would be issues affecting those working behind the scenes. However, they would not be caught by the regulations as drafted," she said.

The Immigration Act, which received Royal Assent on 12 May, further strengthens the immigration rules and makes it more difficult for people who have no right to be in the UK to live or work in the country. It creates a new criminal offence of illegal working, and makes it easier to prosecute those who repeatedly hire illegal workers or who repeatedly fail to carry out right to rent checks on prospective tenants and do not evict those found to be in the UK illegally.

Licensing authorities will be subject to new requirements to check the immigration status of applicants for taxi or private hire licences, and will not be permitted to issue licences for a period any longer than the length of that individual's permission to live and work in the UK. The legislation also adds immigration offences to the grounds on which a licensing authority can revoke a licence.

The legislation also gives the home secretary the status of 'responsible authority' for the purposes of the 2003 Licensing Act, the main licensing law applicable in England and Wales. It prevents individuals from applying for a premises licence or a personal licence under that Act unless they have the right to work in the UK. Once again, immigration offences are added to the list of relevant grounds on which a licensing authority can revoke a licence, while immigration officers are also given rights of entry to licensed premises.

The regulations that would extend similar provisions to Scotland through amendments to the 2005 Licensing (Scotland) Act are currently in draft form. Ferrie said that the Home Office had stressed that it was "keen to continue working on the development of proposals".