The Communities Secretary has confirmed that planning regulations will temporarily be relaxed to allow all pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways of hot food and drinks, as part of plans to help the hospitality industry during the coronavirus outbreak.

Even if the Gambling Commission were to make recommended improvements, it is “a small body that is unlikely to be fully effective in regulating a challenging and fast-changing industry within the current system”, the National Audit Office has warned.

The Home Office will consult this spring on a proposed “Protect Duty” which would require owners and operators of public spaces and venues to put in place measures to keep the public safe from a terrorist attack.

The Institute of Licensing has defended its guidance on determining the suitability of applicants for taxi and private hire licences amid claims from the industry that it is unfair.

The Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) has issued a call for evidence as part of a new research project aimed at improving the scrutiny of activity to tackle gambling harms.

Specialist licensing and regulatory law firm Woods Whur has hired Julian Skeens as a consultant in its London office.

A company that operated a former nightclub where a customer died in a fall, has been ordered to pay £24,000 in fines and costs.

Manchester City Council is to enshrine the principles of ‘Martyn’s Law’, which is intended to improve security at public venues, into its future regulations.

Redbridge Council is understood to have become the first local authority in the country to strip a pub of its gaming machine licence after it repeatedly failed to stop children playing on them.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a council’s appeal over whether it acted unlawfully when it resolved to fix the fees for vehicle licences for taxis and private hire vehicles at an amount which included recovery of all or part of the cost of supervising the conduct of drivers licensed to drive such vehicles.