Legal advice: Gambling on authorisation of licensing agents

Related tags Licensing authority Sign

By Piers Warne of thePublican.com's team of legal experts from London solicitors Joelson Wilson.LACORS recently received an industry complaint that a...

By Piers Warne of thePublican.com's team of legal experts from London solicitors Joelson Wilson.

LACORS recently received an industry complaint that a particular licensing authority was not accepting an application for an AWP permit on the basis that it had been signed by the machine supplier and not by the premises licence-holder, writes Piers Warne.

The issue focused on whether the machine supplier was a duly authorised agent of the licence-holder and therefore in a position to act on his behalf. Nevertheless, there are wider ramifications which need to be explored.

All applications made to a licensing authority, be it for AWP machines or an application under the Licensing Act 2003, need to be signed by the applicant or a duly (and properly) authorised agent on his behalf. Applications that are not properly signed may be declared invalid and therefore the question as to who is signing any document is something a licensing authority has to turn its mind to.

Consider a situation where anyone could pretend to be varying your licence on your behalf. Just imagine your horror if the unscrupulous owner of the Dog-end & Duck down the road has applied to vary your hours for selling alcohol to a new terminal hour of 9pm and removed the right to provide regulated entertainment altogether.

There is a history of acceptance by licensing authorities of documents if they are signed by a solicitor on behalf of his client. This is due to the nature of the relationship between you, as the client, and your solicitor. Licensing consultants, however, may not have that same standing in the eyes of the authority and as such it may demand to see proof that the consultant assisting you in completing the forms, if he signs them on your behalf, is acting properly on your behalf. The same principle applies to machine suppliers.

LACORS has, in conjunction with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, advised that it is perfectly reasonable for a licensing authority, if it has any doubts, to ask for evidence about the agency relationship. In such circumstances evidence would have to be provided that you have properly authorised your agent to act on your behalf and that he had the capacity to sign and submit the application.

The easiest way to ensure that problems are not encountered is to sign the forms yourself unless your solicitor is completing them for you. If you are instructing someone else to sign and submit forms for you then make sure there is an authority in writing from you to your agent instructing him to do so.

Finally, LACORS advises that it is for each authority to decide where they draw the line and how much proof they require that a signatory is properly authorised. You may want your agent to consult with the authorities prior to lodging forms. Although there is a temptation to think of this issue as yet another layer of bureaucracy, at least the Dog-end & Duck will not be able to sabotage your open-mike night, or ability to open at all.

Related topics Legislation

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