Memorandum by the Wine and Spirit Trade
Association (WSTA) (RL 06)
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA)
represents over 200 members involved in the UK wine and spirit
industry ranging from producers, importers and brand owners to
retailers. It is the only UK organisation which represents the
entirety of the supply chain for the off-trade and, as such, is
uniquely placed to offer comment on how the Licensing Act 2003
has affected the sector.
The WSTA has been providing advice and support
to all members of the trade who require it, irrespective of whether
or not they are members of the Association. We have been striving
to help everyone involved in the selling of alcohol ensure that
they are aware of, and comply with, their responsibilities under
the new Licensing Act.
The WSTA wishes to make the following points
to the Committee about the implementation of the Licensing Act
2003 and the re-licensing process:
— Under the Licensing Act 2003, licensing
authorities' committees have taken on a quasi-judicial function.
It is important that these Committees fully appreciate this role,
and adhere to the principles set out in the Act, by only taking
on hearings when there are objections to applications.
— We believe a mediation function should
have been established from the start to deal with potentially-contentious
applications to avoid costly hearings at full committee—the
large number of hearings that have had to take place has slowed
down the whole implementation process for licensing authorities
and the trade.
— We have concerns over guidance licensing
authorities have been giving to businesses about advertising their
applications—local authorities should send out standard
guidance with applications stating a clear procedure for advertising
licensing applications.
— We would like to see published guidance
produced by DCMS for the reviews of licensing policies that will
take place in the next couple of years. One aspect of implementation
has been the diversity of policies around the country, including
several which have been successfully challenged in court.
— A slip rule was put in place for
applications for premises licences, provided there were no variations
applied for. As this Act made significant changes to licensing
conditions, a large number of variations would have been anticipated—the
slip rule should have been uniformly applied for all applications
to provide more certainty for applicants. At the present time,
a huge number of applicants for licences are still awaiting confirmation
that they have a new licence in the run-up to 24 November.
— The DCMS s.182 Guidance was not sufficiently
clear from the outset which has led to a range of interpretations
across licensing authorities—this guidance needs to be clarified.
There must also be a review of how licensing authorities interpret
and implement this guidance.
— By making licences renewable on date
of application, businesses were encouraged to apply as late as
possible. While we recognise that this was necessary in order
that renewals next year and thereon would not all be at the same
time, this did lead to the majority of applications being made
at the last minute which has had the effect of holding up the
issuing of new licences.
— There was a clear lack of guidance
and support from central government for licensing authorities
in implementing the Act. LACORS would have been the obvious channel
but as their guidance is not binding, authorities have cherry-picked
from it to suit them. The newly-formed licensing teams required
structured, centralised guidance to encourage a more uniform approach
to implementation around the country.
|
