Project Overview
A UK metropolitan local authority processed 8,400 licensing applications per year across 23 licence types (per...
Technology Stack
Compliance & Standards
The Challenge
A UK metropolitan local authority processed 8,400 licensing applications per year across 23 licence types (personal licences, premises licences, taxi licences, gambling licences, animal welfare licences, and more). The process was entirely paper-based — applicants posted forms, officers manually data entered, and compliance tracking was done via spreadsheet. The council had a GDS-aligned digital transformation mandate and a G-Cloud budget of £180,000.
Our Approach
GDS Service Standard: User research: 45 applicants across 6 licence types. GOV.UK Design System throughout. GOV.UK Pay for application fees (PCI-DSS scope eliminated). GOV.UK Notify for application status updates and renewal reminders. WCAG 2.1 AA (mandatory under PSBAR 2018). GDS Beta assessment preparation. Multi-Licence Architecture: PostgreSQL with licence-type schema (common fields + type-specific extension tables). Workflow engine: configurable per licence type (taxi = DBS check required, premises licence = planning consent check, personal licence = police notification). Status tracking with automated public register publishing (Licensing Act 2003 requires public register). Public Facing Register: The Licensing Act 2003 requires local authorities to maintain a public register of premises licences. The platform automatically publishes licence status changes to a public-facing JSON API (open data) and a searchable public register web page. GDPR: personal data (home address of premises licence holders) redacted from public register. Officer Workflow: Case management dashboard: outstanding applications, renewal reminders (automated 90-day pre-expiry), DBS check status tracking, consultation response management (some licences require statutory consultation periods), and compliance visit scheduling.
The Results
Launched at 16 weeks, £171,000 — under budget. GDS Beta assessment: passed first attempt. WCAG 2.1 AA: certified. Application processing time: 14 days average → 4 days (officer time per application reduced 65%). Paper eliminated: 100% of applications now digital. Public register: 3,200 licences published with real-time API access used by 12 third-party applications (taxis, compliance tools). GOV.UK Pay: zero payment disputes (previously 45/year on manual banking).
“We expected to fail the GDS Beta assessment first time — that is what everyone told us to expect. We passed on the first attempt and the assessors specifically praised the public register API as an example of open-by-default design. The council leader showed it at a Local Government Association conference." — Head of Digital, UK Metropolitan Local Authority (name withheld)”
Project Details
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