Exactly a month to go and application fever is set to begin in earnest. With an estimated 80% of the forms still to be processed, this is going to prove a stern test of everybody's resolve.
It will also mean some interesting appeals on the question of what constitutes the 'last minute. More of that later, when Saturday 6 August is a little closer. But for now, based on what I have seen so far, a few words of instruction.
This exercise is turning into a test of whether the licensed trade can fill in forms properly. Even James Purnell, the minister, had to admit the other day that the actual form was complicated, but he swiftly moved on to how good the new system will be. That is all well and good, but form-filling is, for now, what people have to do.
There has been widespread criticism of the wording and the sequence and the lack of spaces for certain essential elements (such as children's certificate removal). But everyone has the same form and has to do their best to reflect in what they write for their current situation and what they really want to do.
The problem is that coupled with all this creative writing, applicants have to satisfy many local authorities on all the other aspects of the application to the letter. In ancient Greece, religious ceremonies had to be word-perfect: if you made a slip you had to start all over again. This is, alas, what some town halls are still insisting on now, in spite of pleading from their representatives to allow a little leeway.
But the truth is that many licensees are slipping up because they have not got one or other of the elements right, or have missed out vital information. A lack of signature has even been found on some forms, when clearly it is unacceptable for the form and declaration not to be signed by the relevant person.
But there are other things to check. Personal licence applications have had to be returned because one of the photographs is not countersigned. Premises licences have failed because one or other of the existing licences or permissions is not included. Many applications have been marked defective because the two consent forms one from the prospective designated premises supervisor and one from the existing licence holder consenting to the application have not been included.
One aspect which has caused widespread problems is the production of satisfactory plans. It is true that the requirements for what must be included have thrown many applicants. They are not architects or surveyors, and the list of items to be shown may well have scuppered several of them. Or they have instructed someone to draw it up for them without passing on the necessary information. Several such instructions have been given by telephone, when it is all too easy to miss out a vital requirement.
So my plea to readers of the Morning Advertiser is just this: when you have completed the application, sit down for half an hour and go through the requirements slowly and patiently. Write out a checklist, and ensure that you have ticked off every item. Assemble the applications into the relevant number of sets, if you are applying for a variation, and check each set it is so easy to miss out just one piece of paper on the sixth pile!
Only package them up for delivery or despatch when you are entirely satisfied. Several licensing authorities have set up collection points where you can deliver the sets for variation. If they have given you the names and addresses of the responsible authorities, check you have got them right. But check and double check everything, and give yourself a chance.