| The facts | The Licensing Act 2003 came into effect on 24th November 2005, replacing the 1964 Act. Entertainment venues can now apply for late licences - they can even apply to stay open, and sell alcohol, 24 hours a day. The local authorities have responsibility for granting licences. Local residents have the right to appeal against a licence during the application process, or after the licence has been granted. |
What are the new licensing laws? The new licensing laws revolve around the Licensing Act 2003, which took effect on 24th November 2005. The Act was long overdue and updates the old licensing act of 1964. It has brought new regulations, new powers for the police, new flexible hours for licensees, and it modernises some quite historic old licensing acts. What's wrong with the old licensing laws? Until now, if people have wanted to go for a quiet drink in their local pub, they've had to finish at 11 o'clock, and if they've wanted to stay up, the only option has been to go to a nightclub, which would stay open until 2am. The new laws mean that all licensed premises have the opportunity to apply for an extension to their hours, to vary what they've had in the past. The majority of pubs have applied for the odd hour or two. Also, if you look across the whole remit of licensed premises and licensing legislation, you'll notice there were up to 40 pieces of legislation that covered the issue of licensing. Under the new laws, there's no need for so many bits of legislation. So do the new laws make things simpler for businesses? | "If the licensees are foolish enough not to run their premises correctly, then local residents have the right to apply for a review of that licence" | | Mike O'Brien |
They do. But there's a down side too. The new Premises Licence takes the place of lots of previously separate licences (for example, Entertainment, Special Hours, Restaurant, Residential). There's been a certain amount of pain for licensees in that they've had to complete this 20-page document, which has been a bit daunting (part of my role has been to help some licensees through that). In this first year, the licensing act will cause some confusion, but I'm sure that when the licence holders get to grips with what the new legislation offers, they'll find it's a much simpler process. So will we see smaller places get licences that will enable them to do a whole lot more that just sell a few drinks? Yes. Places that have bars, such as pubs and nightclubs, they can apply for extended hours, sale of alcohol, extended hours for the provision of music and dancing, and entertainment, that sort of thing. If you imagine this 20-page form having 7 or 8 sections on it for all these different activities, they can effectively put down the starting time and finishing time for whatever they wish. Who decides which bars stay open longer? Local authorities. The applicant has to consult with a wide range of people including fire safety officers, environmental health, police, trading standards, social services... So there are lots of people that are involved with it, and one of the major groups that's involved is local residents. They have the right to make objections (and a lot of them have done) to extended hours. What do I do if a noisy bar already has its late licence? There's now a much easier facility for making complaints (providing they are relevant and they are genuine) to the local authority, and asking for a review of a licence. If a person's claims are unfounded, the place can operate. If the licensees are foolish enough not to run their premises correctly and allow incidents of disorder and noise as people are leaving, then local residents and the other statutory authorities have the right to apply for a review of that licence, and it will go back before the licensing committee. Effectively, the licence could be returned to the 11pm finish that it was previously. Is everyone a winner then? Everybody can be a winner. Providing that the licensees - the 'designated premises supervisors' as they're now called - run their places effectively and correctly and ensure that their neighbours and the police, etc, are all satisfied, then everyone could be a winner. With this new legislation there are four main objectives that licensees have to support. One is the prevention of crime and disorder, the second one is public safety, the third is prevention of public nuisance, and the fourth one is protection of children from harm. If, for example, a licensee allows noisy behaviour, the police are able to ask for a review of that licence on the grounds of the applicant not supporting the crime and disorder initiative. And if that's the case then they will deserve to have their licence trimmed. They all know what the situation is... hopefully the new laws won't cause too much grief to people. | 
