Use temporary event notice as last resort

The temporary event notice (TEN) is another aspect of the new law that does not seem to have been thought through sufficiently, but got passed anyway, on the understanding that the Department for Culture, Media & Sport could make adjustments if it was clear that they had got it wrong.

There seems to be an assumption that these will take the place of special orders of exemption (SOE) for the licensed trade. That is clearly wrong.

An SOE can be applied for by a licence-holder at any time, direct from the magistrates, even on a personal application in court, and can last for any period up to three weeks at a time. You can even apply for consecutive SOEs to cover a longer period (for example, when a club registration certificate has unexpectedly expired). There is no limit on the number of applications one licensee can make.

Under the new rules, you are only allowed a maximum of 12 notices for any one set of premises, with a maximum duration of 15 days in total. So for your own pub, you are limited to, say, one a month.

If the police or the council have decided to limit your variation of hours, either by persuasion or coercion, you can put in for a TEN for special events or the televised sports referred to above. But you will soon run out, if you also include additional bank holiday hours and private hirings. Once your limit is reached, the council will automatically send you a counter-notice and the event cannot go ahead. At least, it CAN, but not with any alcohol sales.

So I do not think that licensees should rely on the temporary event notice for their own premises, unless it is absolutely necessary. It is far better to get your overall hours right in the first place, and make sure that everyone involved, including the police, is clear on what your intentions are.

I have been very much cheered by the attitudes of certain local authorities on issues such as this, who are clearly intending to be as accommodating as they can while controlling those activities that could cause nuisance or disturbance. But there are bound to be others who take a far stricter view, and this is where the new law seems to act against the interests of the licensed trade.