Dave,

Your point about "does anyone know..." is well made. The answer is effectively "not quite". The timetable is that the guidance has to be approved by both houses of parliament. There is then a period of approximately six months during which time the local authorities have to prepare and publish their policy statements. The final date for this will be published by the DCMS as the "first appointed day", which is the first date at which an application for a licence can be submitted. There is then a period of approximately nine months to the "second appointed day" when all existing licences become invalid and new licences come into force.

So licence applications will be in the autumn and they will come into force sometime next summer.

Richard