The Licensing Act 2003 requires the Secretary of State to issue guidance to licensing authorities on the discharge of their functions under the Act. Revised draft guidance to assist local authorities in delivering the measures contained in the Act has been issued for consultation. Changes to the existing guidance include:
- greater emphasis that there should be no presumption in favour of longer opening hours and that the four main objectives of the Act should be paramount in considering any licensing application;
- an expanded section on incidental music, to help local authorities determine whether music falls into this category and is therefore not licensable;
- a recommendation that personal licence holders – those responsible for alcohol sales in licensed premises – should provide written, rather than verbal, authorisations for the sale of alcohol in their absence; and
- a clarification of the role of councillors in the licensing process, for example to explain when those with a ‘prejudicial’ interest in an application should withdraw from the decision-making process.
The four statutory objectives of the Act are:
- the prevention of crime and disorder;
- public safety;
- the prevention of public nuisance; and
- the protection of children from harm.
The revised draft guidance is available on the website of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at
http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B63BEF81-2AA1-433A-84CB-237F257008A3/0
/DraftrevisedGuidancetobeissuedundersection182oftheLicensingAct2003.pdf.
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