More of your questions answered in this months Hill Brown Licensing Q & A.
My bar manager has just received a letter from the Licensing Board which says that his personal licence has been revoked because he didn’t complete his 5 year refresher training. He did do it but forgot to send the certificate to the Board. Is there anything he can do, and what does this mean for my pub’s licence? He is the premises manager.
In relation to the pub’s premises licence you need to take action immediately to notify the Licensing Board that he has ceased to be your premises manager. This will give you a 6 week period of grace to appoint a new premises manager. Unfortunately the Board are correct, and as the refresher training certificate wasn’t sent within the relevant timescales they have no choice but to revoke the licence. It is not, however, the end of the line as he can reapply for a new personal licence immediately, as previous restrictions on doing so have been lifted. If this application is made quickly you may be able to reappoint him without the need to find a replacement.
You may have seen reports circulating online and in the media recently regarding personal licence renewals and refresher training. Next year marks 10 years since the first licences were issued and the Act requires them to be renewed and refresher training completed. As things currently stand if your personal licence was issued on 1 September 2009 you have from the start of September this year until May next year to renew your licence. What is not clear is which training certificate must accompany that application. The Scottish Government have indicated that clear guidance will be provided to the trade by the Autumn. Timescales are clearly tight. I urge operators to pay very close attention to announcements and l will provide an update as soon as one is available.
I run a small theatre company and we have a show which we are staging at a couple of venues during the Edinburgh fringe. We would like the audience to be able to have a drink before and after, as well as during the performance. Some of the venues have premises licences, others have theatre licences. Can you tell me what each one has to have to let us stage the show and offer a bar?
This question raises a number of interesting points, as the sale of alcohol and the provision of entertainment, in this case in the form of a theatre performance, are very often intertwined in terms of Licensing. If the venue has a premises licence the sale of alcohol will not be a problem, although you may want to check that there are no conditions prohibiting the taking of drinks into the performance space, and that theatre is listed as an activity on the operating plan. If there is no premises licence you will have to consider an occasional licence which can last for up to two weeks and has to be applied for by either a premises licenceholder, a personal licenceholder or a voluntary organisation. You usually have to apply for this around 4-6 weeks in advance.
The entertainment side of things is slightly more complicated. If the venue has a theatre licence you are covered regardless of the type of liquor licence it has. If, however there is no theatre licence and you plan to operate on occasional licences you may be required to apply for a Temporary Public Entertainment Licence or a Temporary Theatre Licence depending on the type of shows being offered.. It’s important you get this application in as early as possible. The LSOs or a specialist Licensing solicitor will be happy to guide you in the process. I should mention that there is legislation in the pipeline which abolishes theatre licences altogether and brings theatre into the scope of Public Entertainment Licensing. This won’t affect you this year but keep an eye out next year as the landscape may have changed dramatically.
For more information you can contact Audrey directly at Hill Brown Licensing: AJ@mshblicensing.com