Frequently Asked Questions

This library of licensing questions contains actual responses to queries to Rob May and will be built up further as more new questions arise. Please check this library first if you have a query, to see if it has already been answered.

1. Children: Have you got any information on the changes in law relating to children?



2. “Occasionals” : One of the solicitors is concerned that asking for say 30 extensions per year for licensable activities as part of the variation is unlikely to be accepted as the request is not specific enough – police especially will want to know when. Rejections are likely to cause an awful lot of rework. They are working on some examples of applications that might be more acceptable – such as “whenever such and such a race meeting is being held at the local race track” etc. “Whenever a certain team is playing at home” etc. Do we have any further thoughts on this subject as it has been raised by a number of licensees?



3. PEL: How do we remove constraints of current PEL?



4. PRS and PPL: If recorded music and jukebox are now covered under entertainment, how does this impact PRS?



5. Quizzes – Do these need adding to entertainment aspect?



6. Change of tenancy Process: Who contacts local authority re: tenancy change (change in DPS)?



7. Capacity Limits: Please tell me about consents for currently-unlicensed entertainment in restricted numbers houses. Does a beer garden / external drinking area count towards capacity?



8. AWP Permits: Who holds them? Do they have to be converted? How do we know how many there are now?



9. Capacity Limits: My licensee in Taunton has received letter from Taunton Deane Licencing asking him to apply for a capacity limit. He does not hold a PEL. This is the first I have heard about these – what is the advice I can give to licensees?



10. Doorstaff: Would door staff be necessary if a site were allowed to open every Friday and Saturday after 11pm, even if only for an hour extra until 12?



11. Sunday Hours: Does anyone have a view on Sunday hours please?



12. Amendments following objections: If a Part B application is made, objection is made and as a result of ‘negotiated settlement’ with objector the application is amended eg. Hours reduced from those applied for, does the application have to be resubmitted in its revised format, and will the amended variations have to be further circulated to all parties and will further fees be payable on this ‘new’ application?



13. Do you know when and how often an application can be made to vary the licence to take account of competitors?



14. Smoking and Licensing: Can Licensing Authorities add conditions re smoking?



15. Sale of alcohol to residents: I have a number of pubs with rooms – Is there any change to a resident being able to be served at any time after the current terminal hour?



16. Other test certificates and Risk Assessments: I am being told that when a premise licenses is applied for that additional copies are required? They are: Electrical certificate, Gas Certificate and Fire Officers certificate. This will apply not only to houses with PEL but all Pubs, can you clarify your position in this?



17. Loss of Premises Licence: A Premises Licence needs to be renewed if the Licence holder dies, becomes mentally incapable or becomes insolvent. Why is the Personal Licence not ended instead?

1. Children: Have you got any information on the changes in law relating to children?




Under the 1964 Act children under 14 are not allowed in the bar at all. Under the 2003 Act the critical age increases to 16, but children of any age under 16 are allowed anywhere in licensed premises so long as they are accompanied by an adult. This gives all the benefits of a childrens’ certificate for all pubs in future, without the raft of conditions that have been commonly placed on them.

If the applicant makes only a part A application both restrictions will apply in future. We advise that the “embedded restrictions” of the 1964 Act and the Children & Young Persons Acts are removed as an element of a Part B application. Then the only rule will be the new Act, under 16s.

Even if the operator does not like to have children in the pub they should still go this route for future flexibility and assignable value. It is always the right of a licensee to decide how he wants to operate within the licensed hours and terms, and a licensee still has an absolute right to refuse service to anyone, at any time, without giving reasons.

2. “Occasionals” : One of the solicitors is concerned that asking for say 30 extensions per year for licensable activities as part of the variation is unlikely to be accepted as the request is not specific enough – police especially will want to know when. Rejections are likely to cause an awful lot of rework. They are working on some examples of applications that might be more acceptable – such as “whenever such and such a race meeting is being held at the local race track” etc. “Whenever a certain team is playing at home” etc. Do we have any further thoughts on this subject as it has been raised by a number of licensees?




Our template includes wording in the conditions section to say that the retailer will give Police at least 5 days notice of each of the dates when they choose them, so the Police will have a right to be informed in advance; thus reducing the uncertainty if this would be a concern for them.

The problem with this other solicitors’ wording is that it gives the pub less than they have got now. Say they specify “when there are race meetings, when Rovers are playing at home, when Sky televise a football Derby match, when the Rugby World Championships are on, Paddy’s Day and the day of the local fair”, you still have nothing for the World Cup in Japan, St George’s day, Fred’s 50th birthday booking or for the day the pub team win their league! This proposal is too limiting because it is too specific. Remember this is a permanent licence document, so it is not enough to try to work out what dates you will want from next year’s calendar.

Also remember the old definition of what is a special day in the eyes of the Magistrates (the St Georges Day problem) has quite clearly not been repeated into the new act. If Police want to object only on the basis they don’t think the event is special they have no right to do so – the only basis for objections is the four licensing objectives. And all pubs have the alternative of asking for their maximum hours every day, then using them as they choose based on demand. Our wording is an attempt to HELP Police and LA to limit objections by defining a measure of the small number of days when there is a reason to open late.

None of us know for certain what will work out best to get back our present operating flexibility whilst avoiding objections, but I am pretty sure our template is more right than this particular solicitors’ suggestion!

Good debating point and we need to see how it works in practice.

3. PEL: How do we remove constraints of current PEL?




The conditions on a premises licence should be:

• releavant ot the four licensing objectives
• not duplicate other laws
• not duplicate the 2003 Act
The old PEL conditions and local technical regulations will probably still be attached to your licence if you did not specifically ask for them to be removed when you converted and varied the licence. On the plus side these can be a useful summary for the licensee as a reminder of all the other laws and risk assessments and as a training aid for the staff.
4. PRS and PPL: If recorded music and jukebox are now covered under entertainment, how does this impact PRS?




PRS and PPL still continue as before – they do not merge in

5. Quizzes – Do these need adding to entertainment aspect?




They are not listed as regulated entertainment, but to be on the safe side I have included amplified voice (eg the quizmaster) as a permitted activity in all the templates, so it does not get challenged later when a neighbour complains about the noise. Put it in now, whilst it is non-contentious.

6. Change of tenancy Process: Who contacts local authority re: tenancy change (change in DPS)?




The holder of the premises licence.

7. Capacity Limits: Please tell me about consents for currently-unlicensed entertainment in restricted numbers houses. Does a beer garden / external drinking area count towards capacity?




We will have to see how this works in each case. I visited a pub in Spalding which has a garden entirely enclosed within the building, but with a fire escape to the street, into which the operators have put a marquee. I think they have a very good argument to increase the capacity limit, as they can say that what they have done is to reduce the risk of crowding.

8. AWP Permits: Who holds them? Do they have to be converted? How do we know how many there are now?




The Councils took over responsibility for AWPs after 24 November 2005, using the same forms as the magistrates. Make sure it is part of your checklist to apply for the transfer of these permits whenever there is a transfer of the premises licence.

9. Capacity Limits: My licensee in Taunton has received letter from Taunton Deane Licencing asking him to apply for a capacity limit. He does not hold a PEL. This is the first I have heard about these – what is the advice I can give to licensees?




I have seen this letter. It is offering that the licensing officer and the fire officer will visit any pubs now, by invitation, to assess a capacity. I spoke to the licensing officer who confirms they do not expect to be able to apply a capacity in every case and that it will depend on risk assessment. However, the wording of the letter is misleading in that it appears to be a letter targeted to particular outlets where the authorities have already identified a risk; it is in fact a circular letter to all pubs in the District. It therefore does seem to be an attempt to induce applicants to volunteer capacities having had a figure assessed beforehand. The LA are being naughty.

10. Doorstaff: Would door staff be necessary if a site were allowed to open every Friday and Saturday after 11pm, even if only for an hour extra until 12?




Each case on its merits depending on risk assessment. A blanket policy would be illegal.

11. Sunday Hours: Does anyone have a view on Sunday hours please?




I would avoid making a distinction. 10.00 or 11.00 to 23.00 as normal and consider extended hours the same as any other day.

12. Amendments following objections: If a Part B application is made, objection is made and as a result of ‘negotiated settlement’ with objector the application is amended eg. Hours reduced from those applied for, does the application have to be resubmitted in its revised format, and will the amended variations have to be further circulated to all parties and will further fees be payable on this ‘new’ application?




The licence application is decided on the basis of the outcome of any negotiation, hearing or appeal arising from whatever the applicant asked for. So there is only the one application, however much it changes along the way.

13. Do you know when and how often an application can be made to vary the licence to take account of competitors?




A new variation can be made whenever you like and as often as you like. Each time, there will be an application fee to pay, copies to all the other responsible authorities and adverts on site and in a local newspaper, so it is not a step to take lightly, and it pays to wrap as many changes as possible up into one package. The activities of your competitors might drive your choice but will carry no right with the licensing committee - they are not supposed to have any regard to commercial impact; they are just interested in the impact on the public domain via the four licensing objectives and must treat every case separately on those merits.

14. Smoking and Licensing: Can Licensing Authorities add conditions re smoking?




The attached note is extracted from a report circulated by the BBPA on 22nd October. It provides a Written Answer in the House of Lords to clarify the attempts by Licensing Authorities to include Smoking in their licensing policies, by reference to children or otherwise. It clearly states this should not be tried, and the more recent Health White Paper does not change this. Further legislation will be required for any restriction of smoking in pubs.

Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government what advice they are giving to local authorities with regard to the Licensing Act 2003 in terms of their discretion to introduce a smoking ban in public houses, bars and restaurants.[HL4383

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Under the terms of the Licensing Act 2003, public health is not a licensing objective. The guidance issued with the approval of Parliament to licensing authorities by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under Section 182 of the 2003 Act advises that no attempt should be made to use a licensing condition to impose a smoking ban on grounds of either health or desirability. Licensing authorities have also been advised that the only mandatory conditions that may be imposed are contained in the primary legislation itself, and that blanket conditions which cut across the individual consideration of applications must be avoided. Smoking bans are matters to be addressed under public health legislation and voluntary codes of practice.

I have been asked whether we should now choose to describe the business as food led or not, in anticipation. I strongly recommend keeping all available flexibility. As shown in the templates, describe the present premises as widely as possible, including food, and apply for the widest range of variations we sensibly can, without getting serious objections. It will be a few years before pubs have to make the smoking choices, and anything could happen by then to both the proposed new law and each individual pub business.

Even if a publican wants to trade on a “no smoking” basis, let’s not say so at this stage, for fear it will be imposed on the licence as a volunteered condition.

15. Sale of alcohol to residents: I have a number of pubs with rooms – Is there any change to a resident being able to be served at any time after the current terminal hour?




Your converted licence should protect your embedded freedoms to serve residents and guests at private events at any time of day or night. Take this up with your licensing office if it is missing. The question for your variations is then how many of these hours to make available to non-residents?

16. Other test certificates and Risk Assessments: I am being told that when a premise licenses is applied for that additional copies are required? They are: Electrical certificate, Gas Certificate and Fire Officers certificate. This will apply not only to houses with PEL but all Pubs, can you clarify your position in this?




The number of consultees who MUST have a copy are set out by the Act. The LA is entitled to only one copy and one plan. If they need to circulate copies within the LA they do so at their own cost and by their own copying. The list of attachments is defined by the act and DOES NOT include the other documents you have listed. These have been confirmed by the Government as not required to make up a valid licensing application.

There is no such thing as a “new style PEL”. Everything is included in the one form of licence when the LAs get control. I think they may be referring to additional terms whenever anyone asks to vary to add regulated entertainment, but that will include almost 100% of all pubs in order to just get back the kinds of pub entertainments that are becoming regulated for the first time. Because proposals will vary so widely it is “each case on its merits” and “blanket conditions are not allowed” in response to what they are asking for.

17. Loss of Premises Licence: A Premises Licence needs to be renewed if the Licence holder dies, becomes mentally incapable or becomes insolvent. Why is the Personal Licence not ended instead?




This is unfortunately correct. We are going to need to be right on top of these events (and any possible surrenders of the premises licence). I think this is going to end up in the European Courts when deceased estates, insolvency practitioners and creditors are deprived of licences and thus deprived of value for the assets. I think the law should have been drafted as ending personal licences, but it wasn't when it went through Parliament.