Licensing Applications

News: The Home Office Publishes Mandatory Licensing Conditions

  • Date: 01/02/2010
  • Source: Poppleston Allen
  • Author/Solicitor: Jeremy Allen

The Home Office has quietly published, as promised, the draft Statutory Instrument together with the explanatory Memorandum for the new Mandatory Licensing Conditions. It is worth remembering that three of these are due to come into force on the 6th April 2010 with the remaining two coming into force on the 1st October 2010. It is also worth me repeating that only five have been published, whereas the Government has the statutory power to lay nine. It is also fair to say that one of the conditions due to come into force in April, previously referred to as the dentist's chair condition, is unlikely to cause many premises much problems and therefore could quite easily be lost so another five?

The first condition relates to irresponsible promotions and requires the responsible person (the holder of the premises licence, the designated premises supervisor or any individual aged 18 or over authorised for this purpose) to take all reasonable steps to ensure that staff aren't involved in irresponsible promotions. That means not engaging in activities which are currently specified in five sub sections. Briefly, these are games; unlimited or unspecified quantities of alcohol for a fixed or discounted fee unless with a table meal; providing free or discounted alcohol as a prize or reward; providing free or discounted alcohol in respect of a sporting event dependent upon its outcome or something occurring in connection with it; and finally selling or supplying alcohol in connection with posters or flyers which seek to condone, encourage or glamorise anti social behaviour or favourably refer to drunkenness. There is a lot of meat in some of those conditions but at least the Government seems to have avoided a condition prohibiting a licensee offering a round of free drinks to celebrate some special occasion. Free tap water must also be provided upon request to customers "where it is reasonably available". And, Oh yes, the mythical dentist chair is prohibited in rather more general terms than previously highlighted. Those are the three conditions coming into force in April.

The ones in October provide firstly that you must offer half pint glasses, 25ml or 35ml measures of gin, rum, vodka or whisky and 125ml for still wine in a glass. You must also make customers aware of the availability of these measures.

The second condition is oddly worded. This requires the premises licence holder to ensure that an age verification policy applies to the premises in relation to the sale or supply of alcohol. In many companies, this will apply even where the premises themselves are tenanted and the company that owns them doesn't actually run the premises. This policy must specify that individuals, who appear to the responsible person (see above definition) to be under 18, to produce some form of photographic ID. Two things are interesting about this condition. Firstly, the premises licence holder is only required to have a policy and, once this has been done, the mandatory condition has been satisfied. Secondly, the policy does seem to apply to older age groups. That means that if you have a Challenge 21 or Challenge 25 policy then older people will need to be checked.

I'm sure there will be much more comment on these before they become law.

For more information please contact Jeremy Allen .