Business and Street Trading Licences
The Licensing Act 2003
THE NEW
LICENSING LAWS
In 2001, the Government announced plans to reform
the country’s licensing laws and produced the Licensing Bill.
The Licensing Bill received Royal Assent on 10 July 2003, and
is now law. The bill will come into force on 7th February 2005.
These changes will affect anyone who is concerned with:
- pubs and nightclubs
- off licences
- restaurants that serve alcohol
- businesses offering hot food between 11pm
and 5am (including take-aways and mobile
caterers)
- hotels, guest houses and other places that
sell alcohol
- private member’s clubs and social
clubs
- theatres and amateur dramatic
groups
- cinemas
- organisers of occasional entertainments
(see below for more details)
- indoor sporting events
The LICENSING ACT 2003 will change the existing
laws about the type of licences needed to provide any of the above
facilities. Under the new system:
- A Premises Licence will be required for
any place which offers entertainment, refreshment at night and/or
alcohol
- A Personal Licence will be required by
anyone who wants to sell or supply alcohol for consumption on or
off their premises
- Licensees, the Council and other agencies
must all work to promote the Licensing Objectives
- The Police will have greater power to deal
with problems and be able to close premises, which are the focus of
disorder
- There will be no fixed permitted hours on
closing times
- The Council, and not the court, will deal
with all of the new licences
Details are available on the following areas
Premises Licences >
Community Centres and
Church Halls >
Personal Licences >
Review Hearings >
Objecting to Licences >
Licensing Policy
Statement >
Application Forms >
Contact Us >
Premises
Licences
A Premises Licence can be granted for a business
supplying alcohol or entertainment or late night food (on or off
the premises).
When applying for a Premises Licence, applicants
will have to submit:
- a plan of their building
- an Operating Schedule (a brief description of
how the premises will be operated safely)
- a fee. An initial fee will be charged
(upto a maximum £635), followed by annual review fees of up to £350
depending on the size of the business. The Government and not
the Council will set the licence fees, and they will be linked to
the non-domestic rateable value of the premises.
- the name of the premises supervisor.
The applicant must advertise his application
within a prescribed period.
The four Licensing Objectives
are:
- prevention of crime and
disorder
- prevention of public nuisance
- public safety
- protection of children from
harm
The Council must carry out its functions under
the legislation with a view to promoting the licensing objectives
and must issue a licensing statement setting out its policy.
The Council will have to grant a licence unless
it conflicts with one of the four Licensing Objectives. It
may also impose conditions that promote the Licensing Objectives,
for example, noise control measures to prevent public nuisance.
If representations are made about either granting
or exchanging a licence in any way, the Council’s Licensing Panel
(made up of Councillors) will have to examine the application.
Licences now in force will be allowed to
automatically convert to the new system on the same terms as
present. If you hold a licence now, you will be required to
re-apply for new licences from 7th February 2005.
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Community Centres and Church
Halls
Church buildings, community centres and village
halls are exempt from having to pay any fees (except where
they have a licence to sell/provide alcohol).
Personal Licences
To get a Personal Licence you must:
- be over 18
- not have any relevant criminal convictions
as spelt out in the Act
- possess an approved licensing
qualification
- pay the required fee
Personal Licences will be needed to supervise the
sale of alcohol in any premises. You can apply for a Personal
Licence to the Council for the area in which you live. This
will then remain the Council responsible for continuing to licence
you, even if you move away from the area.
Personal Licences will be valid for 10 years.
There will be various duties on holders of Personal Licences,
and the court can forfeit their licence if they are convicted of
any relevant offences.
Existing holders of Justices’ Licences and Club
Registration Certificates will be given ‘grandfather’ rights to
transfer to a new Personal Licence. The police will have the
right to object to a licensee on the ground of crime prevention,
particularly if someone has a relevant criminal conviction.
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Review Hearings
Sometimes, licensed premises create some problems. On the rare
occasion this happens, the Council will try and resolve the issues
informally. However, any of the ‘responsible authorities’, a
local resident, or a resident or business association, can apply
for the Council to review a licence.
Providing a complaint is not frivolous, vexatious or repetitive,
a Council hearing will be held. The Council may decide not to do
anything, or to impose extra conditions on the licence. It
can also suspend either all or part of the licence for up to three
months.
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Objecting to Licences
Local residents, ward Councillors, MPs, MEPs,
residents’ and business associations may make representations to
the Council about the grant of, or a change, in a licence. A
Licensing Panel made up of Councillors – as long as the
representations are not irrelevant or vexatious – will consider
these.
The Government has published regulations setting
out the procedure for licensing panel hearings. These include how
often they may be held and the type of evidence that can be
presented.
When a licence is first applied for, copies will
also have to be sent to the ‘responsible authorities’ – the police,
the local environmental health, planning departments, the fire
authority, social services and trading standards. In some cases,
the Health and Safety Executive must also be notified. Each of
these authorities can make representations about the application.
This can lead to either conditions being imposed or it being
refused.
If someone wishes to appeal against a Council’s
licensing decision, they will have the right to do so to the
magistrates’ court.
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Licensing Policy
Statement
The authorities'
Statement of Licensing Policy was approved and
adopted by full Council on 12 December 2007.
Application Forms
Application forms for applying for Licences under the 2003 Act
can be downloaded from the DCMS website www.culture.gov.ukor obtained by
contacting the Councils Licensing Unit.
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Contact Us
Bassetlaw District Council, Licensing Unit, Queens Buildings,
Potter Street, Worksop, Notts S80 2AH or licensing@bassetlaw.gov.uk 01909
534428. You may also visit the Government’s Culture
Department web site at www.culture.gov.uk or the
Institute of Licensing http://www.instituteoflicensing.org.
If you wish to speak to someone to discuss anything regarding
any of the above, you can contact the Council’s Licensing Officer
on (01909) 533247
NB: This document is only intended as a general guide to
proposed changes in the law. You should consult your own
professional advisers for more detailed advice.
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