ABILITY TO HOLD A LICENCE

Background

The Licensing Act 2003 states that anyone who authorises the sale of alcohol needs to have a personal licence. In practice, this means that each pub requires a personal licence holder who is designated as the ‘Designated Premises Supervisor’. They will be the person who is in day-to-day control of the premises, ie the tenant or lessee. Other members of staff are authorised to sell alcohol by the designated premises supervisor, and therefore are not required to hold a licence themselves.

Requirements

To qualify for a personal licence the applicant must meet criteria set out in the Licensing Act 2003.

These are:

• the applicant must be aged 18 or over;
• no personal licence held by them has been forfeited in the past 5 years;
• they possess an accredited licensing qualification;
• they do not have an unspent relevant or foreign offence.

Subject to the applicant paying the necessary fee and providing a Criminal Record Bureau certificate, the licensing authority is legally obliged to grant the application. If any of the first three criteria are not met, the application will be rejected. Where an applicant has an unspent conviction and the police object to the application, refusal of the application is the normal course of action.

What are ‘relevant’ offences?

Relevant offences that could result in an application for a personal licence being refused include:

• those involving serious crime;
• those involving serious dishonesty;
• those involving controlled drugs;
• certain sexual offences;
• offences created by the Licensing Act 2003.

Please see Chapter 5, Licensing Law, for more details.