Club meetings in pubs
QWith reference to your recent answer about turning a pub into a club, isn't it true that if a club meets in a private room on your premises they are not bound by the permitted hours, as long as it is genuinely members' only? A No, it isn't. You may well have read something like this, but you may have misinterpreted the circumstances under which this concession operates. It is important to see the matter from your point of view rather than the club's, as it is your licence which is affected. The law states that there may be no sale or supply of intoxicating liquor on your premises, which are licensed, except during the permitted hours, or during a lawful extension to those hours. The only exceptions are for residents, for the purposes of trade or to private friends of you as the licensee, and at your expense. The nature of your customers, or their group, does not affect your legal position in these circumstances and you should not be misled by such claims. The concession to which you are referring is for clubs and associations to use "unlicensed" premises on a particular occasion and to supply their own drinks at that venue, for distribution among themselves. No permitted hours will then apply, because it is considered to be a form of "private party" and the premises are not the permanent home of the club, for which registration or a licence would be required. Pub teams and "clubs in pubs" are, unfortunately, bound by the licensing laws as they affect the licensed premises, and you as the licence-holder must abide by these more restrictive rules for all your customers. Test purchasing may loom QSomebody in the trade has told me that the new laws on test purchasing in the Licensing Act 2003 only apply to off-licences and that trading standards department is visiting off-licensed premises and supermarkets, not pubs. Is this correct? AIt is quite dangerous to assume that test purchasing will be confined to the off-trade. It is probably true that some local authorities have decided to target the off-trade first, to discourage street corner drinking by youngsters, which can lead to disorder. They may consider that the problem in this respect is greater than the problem of youngsters drinking in pubs. However, it would be more than sensible to put in place a clear warning to your staff about the law change which is already in force so that they are in a position to challenge anyone who appears under age and is attempting to buy a drink. Instruct them to write down any refusal, either on a special list or in an incident book, so that you have evidence of what is called "due diligence". Also remember that the law has been changed, so that any of your staff can be personally prosecuted for selling to an under-age drinker. Ram that point home and they will realise that they have a personal responsibility for compliance with the law. Transfer of music licences QWe are planning to take over a pub when the present licensee retires. I am going through the various licences and need to know about transferring the music licences such as PRS (Performing Right Society) and PPL (Phonographic Performance Ltd) which he has, and which last beyond the takeover date. AUnfortunately, you will need to take out a fresh licence from the copyright agencies concerned. They do not operate on a transfer system and require the incoming tenant or occupier to take out a fresh licence. They will then refund the unexpired portion of the copyright fee to the outgoing licensee. The reason for this is that, unlike other licences, it is a payment in respect of ongoing copyright activity, not a one-off payment, so when the copyright obligation ceases, there will be a proportion of the fee which is not due. The situation is different with a PEL (public entertainment licence), which may be transferred from one occupier to another, and your local authority will be able to give you advice on the procedure to be followed.
