What can Licensed Premises do under the new Lockdown 2.0 Regulations?

“The new Lockdown Regulations which were announced yesterday afternoon outline restrictions on Licensed Premises in England only from tomorrow, Thursday 5th November 2020.

The Regulations provide that Hospitality venues, such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs must close for consumption on the premises.

Provision of food and drink (including alcohol) may be provided for consumption off the premise, subject to specific requirements outlined below:

Food or drink (No alcohol)

• Between the hours of 05:00 and 22:00 a premises may sell food or drink for take-away, and the purchaser can enter the premises to collect the food or drink.
• After 22:00 till 05:00 the next morning, premises may sell food and drink, but the sale must be pre-ordered and only made via a delivery, click and collect or a drive-thru facility. The purchaser must not enter the premises or vacate their vehicle.

Alcohol

A premises may sell alcohol at any time but the sale must be pre-ordered and only made via a delivery, click and collect or a drive-thru facility. The purchaser must not enter the premises or vacate their vehicle.

The Regulations do not however override the hours and conditions of each individual Premises Licence, and these must be adhered to at all times.

Off licences are exempt from the above as they are not a business that is required to close, however they are still subject to their current Premises Licence hours and conditions.

The Regulations are silent as to whether third-party delivery drivers can enter the premises when picking up deliveries.

This is however subject to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment that the premises should have if remaining open during the Lockdown period, and the admission of delivery drivers inside may be something that a premise would want to address within this.”