Licensing Act 2003 – Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill – All change in 2011

All Change! All Change!

So just as you thought you main concern this winter was going to be whether the roads were being gritted, whether your customers could get to your venue and could you find all those winter woollies to deal with the early snow, along comes the Government and drops a new Licensing Bill in our laps. Just in time for Christmas!

Yes, we did know it was coming. The changes proposed in the Bill (which is known as the Police and Social Responsibility Bill) come after the Government’s consultation exercise earlier this year that I have written about on our website before. But, even though we knew something was on the way we had hoped that the Government might not interfere too much without also giving struggling license holders some help too.

The first door on the advent calendar wasn’t even open when the new Bill was introduced. This is only a little over 4 months after the Consultation period began.

Well the good news is that some of the more controversial proposals, including the changes to appeal structure, have been excluded from this Bill. Other proposals have been watered down, but what has happened to the promised ban on below cost sales? The idea that the cost of alcohol in the supermarket would be increased was one of the few things that license holders had to look forward to with the proposals. Now, following the publication of the Home Office business plan in November it appears the legislation for that part will not be introduced until May 2012. So why the rush for the remainder? This Bill could well be in force by Spring 2011.

Also lost between the Consultation and the Bill has been the suggestion that authorities should accept all representations, notices and recommendations form the Police unless there was clear evidence that these were irrelevant. In its place we have forthcoming Guidance to say that there should be a presumption that all reasonable recommendations from the police should be accepted. We will have to see how that pans out.

There was a suggestion that there would be a 5th Licensing Objective relating to health. This has disappeared as well.

So what has been left in the Bill and how will it affect you? Broadly the changes shouldn’t be too troublesome, unless that is you are applying for a new licence, are in danger of having your licence challenged, serve alcohol to underage customers or are open after midnight.

One of the first changes is to appoint the local Licensing Authority itself and the local Primary Care Trusts as Responsible Authorities. This means that they will have the option to object to new applications in the same way as the Police, Fire and existing bodies at present.

There is also a removal of the ‘vicinity’ test for others who can object. Instead we have the right for those people who ‘live, or are involved in a business, in the relevant licensing authority’s area and who are likely to be affected by’ an application. These proposals come with a change to the rules regarding advertising the application as well.

So a wider group can oppose licences and applications, but they still must base their opposition on the 4 Licensing Objectives? Well yes, but we now have a slightly different test for resulting conditions. Existing requirements are for the authority to take steps which are ‘necessary’ for the promotion of the licensing objectives. Now the need is to take steps which are ‘appropriate’. This is a far wider test and gives the Licensing Authority far more scope to apply conditions.

Temporary Event Notices come in for some reform. These are generally welcome. There has been a recent change imposing a requirement of 2 working days notice on the police. On the down side we now have the right to the Environmental Health Authority to object to a TEN., and they and the Police can object on the grounds any of the 4 licensing objectives. Local Authorities can impose conditions on TENs if there is an objection.

TEN’s for premises which are already licensed will need to be carried out in accordance with existing conditions. So this is no longer a method of circumventing conditions.

On the positive side a new animal known as a ‘Late Temporary Event Notice’ is also included in the Bill. This allows submission of a limited number of TEN’s as little as 5 days before the commencement date. Watch this space for the details!

No-one can have missed the proposals to increase the maximum fine for persistently selling alcohol to children. This appears in Clause 118 and the fine rises to the expected £20,000.

Do you stay open after 3am? Well if so you need to have a look at Clause 199 onwards and the application of fees for Early Morning Restriction Orders.

Stay open after midnight? Then look at Clauses 124 onwards. They deal with the ‘Late Night Levy’. Local Authorities can introduce a levy to require those ‘who benefit from the late night economy…..to contribute to police costs and the costs of other measures……. To address the effect of alcohol related crime and disorder’.

So, all in all a bit of a curates egg. Good in parts, bad in others. Not as bad as we had feared, but not really that helpful either. We will have to see how the Bill changes as it goes through Parliament, but certainly if you are thinking of applying for a new licence, or varying your existing one I would recommend you move sooner rather than later.

For more assistance on this area and how the changes will affect your business please contact Peter Adkins of our Licensing team via our contact form.