Licensing@aol.com
Responsibility of DPS
Q Recently, one of the bars here was sub-contracted to another company. They have a personal licensee at head office but no-one on site. I was appointed as designated premises supervisor (DPS) for all bars during transition, but no-one has mentioned how I am affected by the change. What do I do?
A There has been a considerable problem in the licensed trade on the question of the DPS and replacement. It is clear from my discussions with licensing officers that they are also concerned that relevant changes are not being made.
If you have entirely ceased responsibility for this bar, in terms of your own
employment, and the stock is being supplied and sold by this other company, then clearly they should have a premises licence and DPS of their own.
It may be they are seeking to use the existing premises licence, which will be in the name of the organisation, not theirs. Although piggy-backing on another licence is not necessarily illegal, the conduct of the bar is their responsibility, not yours. You do not want to carry the can for their operation, unless you have some contractual or administrative control over them.
If your name is still up in the bar, then it would be prudent to discuss with your
employer a change of DPS, so that you are not responsible if anything goes wrong.
Fine and personal licence
Q If a member of staff gets an on-the-spot fine for an under-age sale, does it affect my personal licence, as I am the operator and DPS?
A It does not directly affect your personal licence, but I would not be too
complacent, as it does affect your business. It could result in the premises licence being called in for review.
Although these fines can be seen as instant punishment for the actual server, it is rare that the matter is left alone. If you have not been interviewed yet (because you were not there at the time) it may well be that you are visited in the near future with advice and warning. Some licensing officers are very pro-active on this and may want to discuss additional precautions with you. The police may also wish to issue a warning, following a targeted campaign.
You should take steps to ensure that you have discussed this problem with all your staff and it may be wise to issue a written warning to them about under-age sales.
Two licences are possible
Q We have been running a campaign to keep our village hall open, and have suggested using it more for events. My question is: can we have more than one
licence for it, so that we can share
responsibility, or is only one allowed?
A No, according to the new Licensing Act, you can have any mixture of licences and permissions on the same premises.
Previously, only one licence was allowed. But that has been completely changed. For example, there are several halls that have one premises licence for entertainment and one for alcohol. Or a club has a certificate for the members' bar and there is a licence for public events.
Licences can be adapted and arranged for different types of entertainment or activity and at different times of the day, but there can still be an overlap. All you need to do is to ascertain who is going to be the DPS at present, and for what purpose. There may well be change in the law in this regard, but if you are already a licensee, this should not be a problem.
