Licensing@aol.com
Deceased licence holder
Q A colleague has died suddenly while on holiday. For some reason his wife was not named on the licence. What is the legal position?
A This is a complex question under the new law and while she is still grieving this lady may have to move quite fast to protect and preserve the licence. Let us hope that the licensing department will be helpful in this matter.
The premises licence will lapse if the holder dies. This is clearly stated in the Licensing Act 2003.
However, the personal representative
of the deceased person, who may well be your friend's wife, is entitled to give what
is called an "interim authority notice" to
the council.
This will immediately cause the licence
to be reinstated so that the business can carry on trading, as long as there is someone to act as designated premises supervisor (DPS).
If she does not hold a personal licence herself, then it is hoped that there is someone else in the pub who does, so that they can become the DPS.
Giving the notice is not enough. Within seven days she must give a copy of the notice to the police.
If that is done, then she has two months to sort out her husband's affairs, because the interim authority will last for that period of time.
However, it is likely that she will be advised to use the provisions of section 50 of the new Act to reinstate the licence in her own name.
Barring police objections, which should be unlikely, the licence will be immediately revived, a transfer will take effect and there will be no more formalities.
This is the kind of difficult situation
where the help of trade colleagues at a tough time would be most welcomed. See what you can do.
The law and babes in arms
Q I remember reading quite a long
time ago, a question on your page where you were asked about babes in arms and whether they were treated
as children under the licensing laws.
Have the new laws changed the situation at all?
A The new laws treat children differently, but it will depend on the conditions currently on your licence.
If you have "inherited conditions" placed on your licence on transition you may well have a repeat of the under-14 prohibition (unless you had a children's certificate at the time). That prohibition was universal — any child under 14 would not be allowed in the bar, even with their family.
But now, the key word is "unaccompanied". Children under 16 who are not accompanied are prohibited from the bar. But they may be there with their families.
So, by definition, a babe in arms is now exempt, but if you have the embedded restrictions, a baby is not exempt. See how silly the law can be.
A record fee
Q We used to have a licence from a company called Phonographic Performance at our previous place, but we do not have it here. Is this because we do not play any records as such. We just have radio and TV, but we do have a background music system.
AThe fact that I tend to mention the Performing Right Society more is that they are able to claim a licence fee from the vast majority of licensed premises. Phonographic Performance (PPL) does a similar job, but in respect of copyright recordings, not the actual music.
The absence has nothing to do with the demise of vinyl! CDs and other media will also be caught by copyright restrictions. So any pub playing recorded music will be liable to assessment and will need to pay an annual fee.
