Supervision of premises under
the Licensing Act 2003
2. The Licensing Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) established
a dual regime for the licensing of premises and of those who supervise
activities within them. Temporary events have their own set of
provisions.[3] Permanent
premises licences and club premises certificates are applied for
under the provisions in Part 3 or Part 4 of the 2003 Act respectively.
Importantly, a premises licence does not have to be renewed, although
changes to the premises must be approved by the licensing authority,
and the premises licence must at all times stand in the name of
an individual or corporate body.[4]
There are analogous although somewhat different provisions for
clubs.[5]
3. However, under section 19 of the 2003 Act, it
is a condition of all premises licences which permit the supply
of alcohol that there be a designated premises supervisor (DSP)
for those premises at any time when alcohol is supplied, and furthermore
that the DSP must hold a valid personal licence. There is a second
condition, which is that every supply of alcohol at the premises
must be made or authorised by the holder of a personal licence.
Together, these two conditions are known as the "mandatory
conditions". They are intended to ensure that there is a
trained and approved individual who can be held to account for
the proper supervision of alcohol sales. However, neither the
DSP nor the personal licence holder is required to be present
on the premises at all times.
4. Personal licences are subject to criminal records
checks and require a training course to be undertaken which gives
instruction on matters such as the law in relation to underage
drinking and police powers to enter premises. It is an offence
for a personal licence holder not to declare relevant convictions
(for example, for drug-related or licensing offences or violent
crime). There are procedures under the act for revoking personal
licences upon conviction for such offences.[6]
Otherwise, a personal licence is valid for ten years.
5. For commercially run premises such as pubs, the
mandatory conditions do not generally present a problem, because
the cost of recruiting and training DSPs and personal licence
holders can be supported from the profits of the business. However,
for charitable institutions and small venues such as local theatres
or church halls, the cost of having a DSP and personal licence
holder is burdensome, and there can be difficulty in finding people
to fulfil the required roles. Typically, it costs of the order
of £275 for a volunteer to gain a personal licence.[7]
There is a further cost in reapplying to the local authority when
the DSP changes, as might be the case when an incumbent leaves
the area. Gap periods in which there is no DPS mean that premises
might have to forgo substantial opportunities for revenue or even
cancel an event or series of events.[8]
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