David Ward welcomes change in Licensing Panel law

10.31.55am GMT Mon 8th Feb 2010

Councillor David Ward, Liberal Democrat PPC for Bradford East, has welcomed a law which will enable councillors to represent the views of residents at Licensing Panels. Previously in order to speak to the panel councillors needed to live near the premises seeking the license or represent a named resident.

"This was a bad piece of legislation right from the start. It was ridiculous that ward councillors were not allowed to comment on what can often be one of the major sources of complaints from local people," David said. "This legislation meant that where residents wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals or where they simply felt nervous about attending a panel, their councillors could not help them."