Licensing Act 2003


The Licensing Act 2003 is an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises in England and Wales used to sell or supply of alcohol, provide regulated entertainment, or provide late night refreshment. It allows some or all of these licensable activities to be contained in a single licence—the premises licence—that replaced other schemes. Responsibility for issuing licences is given to local authorities, specifically London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities, and district councils, who took over this power from the justices of the peace under a system of licensing committees. It came into effect midnight, 24 November 2005.

Key measures

Key measures contained in the act include:
; Flexible opening hours
; Single premises licences
; Personal licences

Licensing committee

Each local authority must set up a licensing committee with between ten and fifteen members; it is assumed that most member level decisions will be made by a sub-committee of three. The committee can and is expected to have a scheme of delegation for different types of decision; this means that many applications will be decided by officers. The full committee is expected to receive monitoring reports.
The committee is not regarded as quasi-judicial, and should make its decisions in accordance with the principles of natural justice and with regard to the Human Rights Act 1998. It has been suggested that councillors should not be involved in any way in decisions on premises in their ward, and the Standards Board for England has advised that only councillors who are members of the committee should have any role in considering applications.
The Licensing Act sets out four licensing objectives of no preferential order which must be taken into account and adhered to:
In Scotland there is a fifth licensing objective: protecting and improving public health.

Licensable activities

The act defines "licensable activities" as:
  • The retail sale of alcohol,
  • the supply of alcohol in clubs,
  • the provision of late night refreshment, and
  • the provision of regulated entertainment
In turn, "regulated entertainment" is defined as:
  • A performance of a play,
  • an exhibition of a film,
  • an indoor sporting event,
  • a boxing or wrestling entertainment,
  • a performance of live music,
  • any playing of recorded music, or
  • a performance of dance
in the presence of an audience. There are exceptions and refinements.
"Late night refreshment" is defined as the supply of hot food or drink to the public for consumption, both on or off the premises, between 23:00 and 05:00.

Premises licences

A premises licence is required for any premises offering licensable activities. Once a licence is granted, it is valid until it is either surrendered or lapses in accordance with the act, in contrast to previous schemes, where the licence generally had to be renewed annually. The application for a premises licence requires the completion of an operating schedule, and the offering of conditions to be included on the premises licence and a plan of the premises.
A premises licence that includes the sale of alcohol must name an individual who holds a personal licence granted under the act. This person is known as the designated premises supervisor and must sign a consent form agreeing to being named as the DPS. Applicants must serve a copy of the application on responsible authorities, which include: the licensing authority, the police, the fire authority, the body of responsible for health and safety enforcement, the body responsible for dealing with pollution, a body responsible for advising on child protection issues, the planning authority, and the weights and measures/trading standards authority. Responsible authorities can make representations to the licensing authority about an application. The application must also be advertised by way of a blue notice displayed on or near to the premises for 28 days and in a local newspaper on one working day within ten working days of making the application. In addition to the responsible authorities, the act allows for any "other person" to make representations. If representation is made, the licensing authority must hold a hearing in most cases.
After the hearing, the authority can make one of five decisions:
  • Grant the licence with conditions that match the operating schedule
  • Exclude some licensable activities from the application
  • Refuse to accept the person specified as DPS
  • Approve different part of the premises for different activities
  • Reject the application entirely. An unsuccessful applicant can appeal to the magistrates' court; an interested third party who disagrees with a decision to grant a licence can also appeal against the council's decision.
Any person or responsible authority can apply to the licensing authority for a review of an existing premises licence, with the aim of amending its conditions or revoking it entirely.

Cumulative impact policy

Although not specifically referred to in the original act, guidance is provided for the establishment of cumulative impact zones, which allows licensing authorities to designate an area as such when there is evidence that the accumulation of licensed premises within it may cause one or more of the licensing objectives to be undermined if further licences are granted.
A research study in the London Borough of Southwark found no evidence that CIZ establishment reduced the number of successful applications nor impacted on the relative proportion of licence applications receiving objections.
Cumulative impact assessments were formally included in the Licensing Act 2003 by the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

Personal licences

A personal licence allows a person to sell or authorise the sale of alcohol under the authority of a premises license. Anyone can apply for a personal licence to the licensing authority for the area in which they live. They must show a licensing qualification and a criminal record clean of relevant offences. The local authority can only refuse such an application on police advice. The licence lasts indefinitely after changes to legislation were made, where it had to be renewed every 10 years.
Anyone who already had a licence under the previous licensing schemes in their name – typically a pub landlord – were grandfathered without applying for a qualification.
If an applicant does not live within a local authority's area, they can apply to any authority of their choice.

Temporary event notices

Any person over 18 can serve the local authority and local police with a temporary event notice for an event which would normally need a premises licence, but which would be for a maximum period of 168 hours, and for a maximum number of 499 people. Examples of events that could be covered by a TEN include a pub wants to stay open all weekend for a special occasion, but does not want to apply for, or cannot get, a licence allowing this all the time; or a beer tent in a summer fair. TENs also cover licensing over alcohol to clubs, entertainment or late night refreshment. A notice currently costs £21.00.
TENs must be submitted at least ten working days before an event is due to start. Notice is given to the council responsible for the area in which the event is to be held. A copy of this notice must be sent to the police that cover that area and the Environmental Health department. The police and Environmental Health have three working days to make an objection. Anyone who does not have a personal licence can give only five notices a year, while a personal licence holder can give 50. A TEN can only be given in respect of the same premises fifteen times in a calendar year. On 25 April 2012 a late TEN was introduced, which can be submitted between five and nine working days before the event and should only be used when unforeseen circumstances lead to short notice.
There is no need for permission for a temporary event; the prospective premises user only has to formally notify the council and police that the event will take place. So long as the criteria noted above are met and the police have no objections, the event can proceed. The council cannot impose any further conditions, limitations or restrictions, but if the authority is convinced that any of the above limits will be exceeded, or they uphold a police objection, they will issue a counter-notice which effectively cancels the TEN.

Children and the act

The act made a few important changes to the current law regarding children and alcohol, although they were not publicised at the time. For instance, a rule allowing children under eighteen years of age to sell alcohol in supermarkets is extended to all licensees, as long as "the sale or supply has been specifically approved by that or another responsible person", thus making it legal for people under 18 to work in a bar. However, children working behind bars are monitored by other legislative acts such as the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Someone under the age of eighteen attempting to purchase alcohol for the first time in English law is considered a criminal offence, and is punishable by a fine of up to £1,000. Prior to the act, children aged 5 and over were legally able to drink alcohol in a beer garden but not in the bar as long as it had been bought by an adult.

Reaction

The act has caused some controversy. Some British drinkers and many tourists are frustrated with the traditional closing time of 23:00, as opposed to the more liberal drinking regulations elsewhere in Europe and further afield, and believe extending drinking times will reduce "drinking against the clock", a precursor to binge drinking. Conversely, those against the legislation believe that binge drinking will increase, as drinkers will have more time to get drunk. One retired chief superintendent reflected that the act had “placed extraordinary demands on already stretched police resources”.