Licensing News

We use this page to publish any upcoming changes in legislation that is relevant to any of the licences we process which include pubs, clubs, taxi vehicles and drivers, gambling, scrap metal and animal welfare.

Expressions of Interest - Inspection services of hackney carriages (taxis) and private hire vehicles

Breckland Council is seeking expressions of interest from garages within the Breckland area to carry out inspection on new and existing licensed vehicles.  For further information please see ourPublic Notice webpage.

Avoiding licence fee scams

Do you pay a licence fee to Breckland Council?  Watch out for scams.

Breckland's Licensing Team will never ask for your bank information, but may need your card details.  If you are unsure, you can always check whether a call is legitimate by phoning the Breckland Contact Centre on 01362 656870.

Extension to licensing hours for Women's Euros

The Home Office have now confirmed that Licensed premises will be allowed to stay open until 01:00 if England or Wales reach the semi-final and/or the final of the Women's UEFA European Championship this summer.

The tournament, which is held in Switzerland, will host the semi finals on 22 and 23 July and the final on 27 July 2025.

As with similar extensions granted by the Government, it will be very important to carefully consider the exact terms of your premises licence and the impact the extension will have on this.  The full details of the extension are yet to be announced, we will provide an update as soon as it becomes available. 

Enhanced DBS Fee Increase

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has announced upcoming changes to the fees for DBS checks and the DBS Update Service, effective from 2nd December 2024.  These fees will now be:

• Update Service:  £16.00 per year
• Enhanced DBS:  £59.50 per check (if using Breckland Council to obtain your enhanced DBS)

Microchipping of Cats

Owners have until 10 June 2024 to microchip their cat.  Cats must be microchipped before they reach 20 weeks of age, except for unowned cats (i.e. feral and community cats).  You must keep your details up to date on a DEFRA approved microchipping database.  Catteries have been advised to add the microchip number to their records for any cats boarding in their establishment.  Further information can be found on the Cat Protection website. (opens new window)

Free publications for Premises Licence Holders

The British Beer and Pub Association have provided somefree publications for Premises Licence Holders including Challenge 21 posters.