- The entertainment is provided in front of an audience or spectators
and is for the purpose of entertaining those persons and
- The entertainment is:
- to any extent to members of the public, or
- exclusively to members of a qualifying club and their guests, or
- for consideration and with a view to profit. The charge must be made
by or on behalf of the organisers or management of the entertainment or
the premises, and must be paid for by or on behalf of some or all of the
persons for whom the entertainment or facility is provided. This would
include, for example, letting out a room in your premises for people to
use for wedding receptions.
What about music in small premises?
A
Premises Licence for regulated entertainment is required in premises with
a maximum capacity of less than 200 persons, and where the sale alcohol
is the main activity. However, any conditions on your licence relating
to the following licensing objectives:
- Prevention of Public Nuisance, and
- The Protection of Children from Harm
will
be automatically suspended. These conditions can be applied to a licence
if the Licensing Authority carries out a formal review of the licence.
However, conditions related to the above two licensing objectives, can be imposed
on a licence as a result of something you have put in your operating schedule.
Are
there any exemptions for un-amplified music?
A Premises Licence is still required for regulated entertainment
involving un-amplified music. In premises that:
- are licensed for the sale of alcohol and provision of entertainment,
and
- have a maximum capacity of less than 200 persons, and
- provide un-amplified music between 8.00 pm and midnight, and
- have no other forms of entertainment on the premises
All conditions
on the licence are suspended. As with small premises:
- conditions can be applied to a licence
if the Licensing Authority carries out a formal review of the licence,
- conditions can be imposed on a licence as a result of something you
have put in your operating schedule.
What
about providing entertainment facilities?
You still need a licence
for regulated entertainment, even if you are just providing facilities
for making music, dancing, or entertainment of a similar description.
This
means, for example, that you require a licence for:
- having a piano on the premises for the use of customers or performers;
- having a dance floor on the premises;
- providing a video jukebox.
When
do I not require a licence for regulated entertainment?
- Films which are solely or mainly to demonstrate a product, advertise goods
or services, or provide information, education or instruction;
- Films as part of an exhibition in a museum or gallery;
- TV and radio broadcasts, providing they are shown "live" and not recorded;
- Religious meetings or services;
- Entertainment in places of public religious worship;
- Garden fetes (unless held for private gain);
- Entertainment provided in a moving vehicle;
- Morris dancing;
- Incidental entertainment.
Is there still a "two in a bar" rule?
No. Under the new Act, it doesn't matter how many
performers you have, or whether you just have a DJ and no dancing. You
still need a licence for regulated entertainment, even to carry on providing
duos or a DJ.
Late
Night Refreshment
Late
night refreshment means the supply of hot food or hot drink to the public,
for consumption on or off the premises, between 11.00pm and 5.00am. It
includes takeaways, cafes, fast food outlets and mobile catering vehicles.
Premises that provide late night refreshment will need to hold a Premises
Licence once the Act comes into effect.
The
Government believes it is necessary to protect local residents because
premises, which serve late night refreshment, can be used by customers
who may have been drinking at other premises earlier in the evening, thereby
creating the potential for disorder on and near the premises. Also, because
large numbers of customers may gather at places serving late night refreshments,
there is a potential for nuisance and disturbance for local residents.
The regulation of late night refreshment will tackle these issues and allow
residents and other interested parties and responsible authorities to make
representations about new, and seek reviews of existing licences where
they are concerned that the licensing objectives below will be or have
been affected.
If
a supermarket or other business premises (i.e. garage) heats food or drink
for customers between 11.00pm and 5.00am, or provides facilities for customers
to heat food or drink above the ambient temperature, a premises licence
is required. However, if the business is selling only cold food and drink,
and not providing facilities to heat it, a premises licence is not required.
Are there exemptions for the requirement to obtain
consent for late night refreshment?
The following are exempt from requiring a Premises Licences for the provision
of late night refreshment:
- Alcoholic hot drinks or hot drinks
containing alcohol (although consent to sell alcohol will still be required).
- Hot drinks distributed by a machine
that is operated solely by the customer.
- Hot food or hot drink supplied free
of charge, where there is also no charge for admission to any premises,
or for some other item to obtain the hot food or hot drink.
- Hot food or hot drink supplied by
a registered charity or by a person authorised by a registered charity (i.e. a charity
which is registered under the Charities Act 1993 or a charity not required
by he Charities Act 1993 to be registered).
- Hot food or hot drink supplied on
a vehicle, which is not permanently or temporarily parked at the time.
- Hot food or hot drink supplied to
members and guests of recognized clubs that hold a Club Certificate.
- Hot food or hot drink supplied to
hotel and bed and breakfast guests.
- Refreshments in staff canteens where
the staff are required to work between 11.00pm and 5.00am.
Applications
What about one off events
and special occasions?
If you are holding a licensable activity that falls
in to one of the following categories:
- Less than 500 people attending
- Lasting for not more than 96 hours, with
a break of at least 24 hours thereafter
You can hold your event by submitting a Temporary
Event Notice (TEN) to the Council.
This notice allows you to hold a licensable activity
on premises that are not currently licensed, or to hold activities your
existing licence does not permit. This would include for example:
- Selling alcohol at a school fete
- Providing regulated entertainment at a
pub where the current licence does not permit this
- Staying open to sell hot food in to the
night on a special occasion (e.g. New Years Eve)
- Selling alcohol after the hours your normal
licence permits, e.g. for a special occasion
- An amateur dramatics group putting on
a play in unlicensed premises.
Are there any restrictions on TENs?
- You can only have up to 50 TENs a year
if you are a Personal Licence Holder (see section below on Personal Licences);
- You can have only have up to five TENs
a year if you are not a Personal Licence Holder;
- You must be aged 18 or over;
- Restrictions apply where the applicant
is an "associated person" of someone who has already given a TEN, including
spouses, close relations, agents and employees, and their spouses. The
word "spouse" also includes someone living with the notice giver;
- There can only be a maximum of 12 TENs
a year for any particular premises, subject to an overall limit of no
more than 15 days in total (e.g. where the TEN lasts for more than one
day).
If your event/activity falls outside these restrictions,
you will require a full Premises Licence.
If the number of TENs you seek in a year exceeds the
limits above, the Council must serve a counter notice prohibiting the event
from going ahead. This must be served at least 24 hours before the event.
You must send a copy of your application to the police.
They can only object if they feel your event would undermine the Crime
Prevention Objective. If they do object, we will hold a public hearing
in front of our Licensing Sub Committee to determine your application (unless
all parties can agree a hearing is unnecessary). The Committee will listen
to evidence from both sides before deciding whether the event can go ahead. However,
Government guidance requires that we refuse permission for the event in
these circumstances unless there are exceptional reasons not to.
All TEN applications must be received by the Licensing Authority and the Police at least ten working days before the event.
What is a Personal Licence?
All sales of alcohol must be made by, or under the
authority of, a Personal Licence Holder. Not everyone who makes a sale
has to hold a Personal Licence, so long as a Personal Licence Holder has
authorised the sale. This does not apply to Qualifying Clubs or premises
operating under a Temporary Event Notice.
You must apply for your Personal Licence to the Council
in whose district you live.
You can have as many Personal Licence Holders on the
premises as you wish, providing there is only one Designated Premises Supervisor
(see below). You can also choose to become a Personal Licence Holder if
you wish to apply for more than five TENs a year, but otherwise would not
require one.
Designated
Premises Supervisor
Additionally, all premises operating under a Premises
Licence to sell or supply alcohol must appoint a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for the premises. There can only be one DPS per premises. The DPS
will be held as the person in overall charge of the premises. You should
therefore choose this person with care.
You have to nominate the DPS on your application form. This
person does not have to be on the premises at all times, but they must
take responsibility for what happens there. This means the DPS should
ensure any staff they appoint are appropriately trained in the requirements
of the Licensing Act 2003 and of any specific conditions attached to the
Premises Licence.
A person cannot become a DPS unless he is also a Personal
Licence Holder.
Please note: although qualifying clubs don't need
a DPS to sell alcohol to members and their guests, this exemption does
not apply if you hire the premises out for wedding receptions and the like. You
do need a full Premises Licence for these activities (unless you are only
holding a small number of events, which you can hold under a TEN) and therefore
you will need to appoint a DPS (but see notes on holding multiple licences
below).
The application procedure is described in the notes
attached to the application form.
All applications, notices
and representations shall be in writing. Email may be used in respect of
representations, but applications will need to be accompanied by plans
and the fee, so will need to be in writing.
Please note: This information has been made as comprehensive as possible. However, in attempting to simplify the law, certain requirements have been omitted. Full details of what you must do are contained within the legislation itself.
Laws can and do change. This information was accurate when produced, but may have changed since. We must advise that only the Courts can give an authoritative opinion on statute law.
Guides
'My guide to Licensing' is a reference book written by Licensing Officers to assist the licensed trade to apply for licences and temporay events. It also gives general licensing advice.
My guide to Licensing (310 KB)
Some of the documents on this website can be downloaded and are published using the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) format.
To view or print these documents, Adobe's Acrobat PDF reader is required which can be downloaded from the Adobe Systems' website (external link)
Contact
Licensing Unit
Tel: 01823 356343
Fax: 01823 356564
Email: licensing@tauntondeane.gov.uk
