Licensing@aol.com
When free drinks are not really that free
Q We supply wine and beer on a
wholesale basis to businesses in
this area who give them away to their customers as part of their hospitality
(eg, in reception areas or while they are waiting to be served). One of these businesses has now told me they need a licence to do this. The drinks are free for the public. What is the law?
A There are two issues here, one of which affects you directly. If you are running a wholesale operation, you may only sell to persons qualified under the Licensing Act 2003. In general, this means persons retailing or supplying alcohol by way of business. Without a premises licence yourself, you may be breaking the law by selling to these businesses, unless you can justify it by claiming that it is sale "to a trader for the purposes of his trade".
If this latter is the case, then the second element kicks in. Where drinks are supplied in the course of business, the fact that they are "free" at the point of delivery does not mean that they are free in terms of the business transactions. They form part of a deal for which a "valuable consideration" is given by the customer. As the supply of drinks comes out of the profit from the other elements of the deal, so it's effectively "paid for" as part of the overall transaction.
It is claimed that because some people refuse alcohol or are not served with it, the cost of the service is still the same. But a leading case in the House of Lords held that such additional elements are still part of what the customer pays for, and so
technically a licence would be required.
The serving of drinks by 15-year-olds
QWe have a pub in a holiday area with a number of letting rooms and an
annexe with accommodation. Is my daughter, who is 15, allowed to serve drinks to these rooms and also take money for them?
A Without going in to the finer points of the Licensing Act with regard to
delivery of alcohol, I think you are on the right side of the law, as long as you take one or two simple precautions.
The first one is that your daughter cannot carry out the whole transaction herself (ie, taking an order, pouring or fetching the drinks and then delivering them). She must be supervised in some way at the time that she makes the sale.
This is most likely to be in the bar or servery when she comes to pick up the order. If the actual pouring or supply is
carried out by the bar staff (ie, she has a ticket or order pad and hands it to the persons behind the bar) then there is no problem at all, as the actual sale is being made by that person.
The fact that these persons are resident on the premises (although not necessarily in the licensed area) makes no difference to this part of the law. It does, however, mean that they could in theory order drinks when the bar is closed. So there would have to be a rule that she asks an adult to agree the sale, whatever time of the day it is.
Who is responsible for test purchases?
Q Can you tell me which department of the council is technically responsible for sending children into pubs?
A It is the weights and measures inspectorate, which is now part of what is called trading standards. Alternatively, the police themselves can embark on test purchases in their own right. Either can prosecute if they discover offences.
