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MARCH 2005
The Licensing Act 2003 brings about a wholesale change to the current licensing regime. It unifies the legislation and the licences required for licensable activities. Licensable activities include the sale and supply of alcohol and the provision of entertainment.
Is my club covered by the new Act?
The new Act only covers Qualifying Clubs. To qualify, a club must fulfil all of the following conditions:
1. Under the club’s rules, no one may be admitted to membership or enjoy any privileges of membership until two days have elapsed between their application and when the membership takes effect.
2. The club’s rules must prevent anyone who became a member (without initial application or nomination) from enjoying the privileges of membership until two days after becoming members.
3. The club must be established and conducted in good faith.
4. The club must have at least 25 members.
5. Alcohol can only be supplied on the premises by or on behalf of the club.
If a club intends to sell or supply alcohol there are three more conditions to be met:
6. The purchase and supply of alcohol must be managed by an elected committee of adult club members.
7. No one at the club involved with the purchase of alcohol should receive any commission.
8. Nobody involved in the supply of alcohol should receive any monetary benefit from the supply of alcohol to its members and guests.
When will the law change?
Despite receiving Royal Assent in July 2003, the Act did not come into force until 2005. Since 7 February 2005, known as the “First Appointed Day”, the new licensing authorities have begun to process applications under the new Act. On the “Second Appointed Day”, likely to be in November 2005, the new Act with its new licences will come fully into force and the old licensing laws and licences will cease to exist.
Between February and November 2005, known as the Transitional Period, the old and new licensing regimes will operate in tandem.
The new licensing authorities are currently considering the Guidance published by the Secretary of State on how to implement the new Act. Each authority was to produce its own licensing policy statement by 7 January 2005 describing how it intends to implement the new Act.
What is going to change for clubs?
Under the new regime, a club will no longer simply register with the Court to obtain a Club Registration Certificate. The system for licensing clubs will be less stringent than for other licensed premises but a club will have to be licensed if it wishes to carry out any of the following Qualifying Club activities:
· the supply of alcohol to members (off-sales and on-sales);
· the sale of alcohol to members’ guests (on-sales only);
· the provision of regulated entertainment to members and their guests.
The Qualifying Club must obtain a Club Premises Certificate from the local licensing authority. The new certificate will permit the club to carry out any of the above activities provided they are noted on the licence. The certificate will remain in force until it is either revoked or surrendered.
If a club wishes to extend its activities by, for example, allowing members of the public to hire the club premises for events such as wedding receptions, then it falls within the general licensing provisions for all licensed premises and it must obtain a full Premises Licence.
If your club chooses to apply for a Premises Licence it must take care not to open its doors to the public generally if to do so would be contrary to the club’s rules.
Getting a full Premises Licence is a big step and some clubs may choose to get round this requirement by instead applying for Temporary Event Notices when opening to the “public”. However, these notices are of limited use: a club can only hold 12 temporary events a year, the event can only last 96 hours and only 499 people may attend. Whilst the last two limitations may not pose a problem the first may do if your club has a healthy turnover of public hires.
If a club wants to sell alcohol under a Premises Licence, the club will have to appoint a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS). The DPS will be responsible for all sales of alcohol made at the club and will be the point of contact for the licensing authority, the police and the fire service. The DPS and any other person who authorises the sale of alcohol at the club must hold a Personal Licence. This new licence is the nearest equivalent to the existing Justices’ licence used for other licensed premises. To hold a Personal Licence the individual must hold the relevant licensee’s qualification which in many circumstances will mean going on a course.
Minors and alcohol
Under the new Act, it is an offence to supply alcohol, directly or indirectly, to any persons who are under 18 years of age. The club and the person authorising the sale of alcohol will both be committing an offence. This brings clubs into line with all other licensed premises.
There is one narrow exception to this: children aged 16 and 17 will be permitted to consume (but not buy) beer, wine or cider with a table meal if they are in the company of adults. A table meal is (helpfully) defined in the Act as being a meal which is eaten at a table or similar surface but it is thought that Authorities will expect the meal to be a substantial one, eaten with a knife and fork.
Actions to take
Those clubs who already hold a Club Registration Certificate or a Justices’ On-Licence must apply to convert these old licences to the new licences within six months of the First Appointed Day, that is by 7 August 2005. If you wish your club to carry out entertainment – which was not previously a licensed activity – then you must include a variation when you apply to convert.
If an entirely new licence is required this must be obtained in good time for the Second Appointed Day, likely to be early November 2005, when the new Act and all the new licences come into force.
In preparation for this it would be wise to:
· Check your rules – are you a Qualifying Club?
· Review your activities – which licence is required?
· Are your intended personal licensees adequately qualified?
· Are your plans up-to-date?
· Do you have your original Club Registration Certificate available?
Conclusion
This note is intended to provide a brief overview of the changes to the licensing regime.
© Farrer & Co, March 2005 |
