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Time customers must leave

QIn this area the police have said that only half an hour is allowed for people to remain on the premises after "time" has been called. Under the old law, as I interpreted it, there was an additional period of 20 minutes for drinking up. But after that, must customers actually leave the premises? If no alcohol is being served or consumed, may they stay in the bar for an indefinite period, or is it only for half an hour?

AThere is nothing in the new or old Licensing Acts requiring customers to leave licensed premises at any time of day. However, it is clear to me that many police forces believe there is some form of legal obligation on the licence-holder not to allow customers to remain, and this view has made its way into the minds of people within the trade.

Certainly, a period of half an hour is not mentioned in the Act in this context, and it may be that a convention has grown up in some parts of the country. The obligation for the customer to finish his or her alcoholic drink within a period of 20 minutes following the end of the stated hours is no longer the law.

The police are suspicious about former customers lingering on the premises with "no drinks", but no law is being broken. This is why some forces insist on pubs putting in a "closing time" on their new or varied premises licence application, so that people will be forced to leave the premises at a specific point.

Out of sight is not out of mind

QI was challenged by a customer the other day for pouring a guest beer for him in the other bar, which he could not see. The pump was properly marked, and I showed it to him, but he said it was illegal. Is this true?

ANo, it isn't. I suspect that the customer had confused the rules on metered dispense with those for hand pumps.

The rule on visibility only applies where metered dispense equipment is installed and thus there is a possibility that unstamped glasses are being used in the premises.

Under weights-and-measures legislation, the requirement for stamped glasses is dispensed with, as long as the dispense point "...is installed in such a position that the delivery of the liquor into the container can readily be seen by customers in that part of the premises where the buyer ordered the liquor."

So with metering equipment, a customer is entitled to see his pint poured in front of him, so that he can be sure that a full measure has been dispensed from the equipment. But with stamped glasses and hand pumps, that does not apply.

Refreshments for officers

QI know that the law on serving refreshments to police officers on duty has been repealed, but what about selling beer? Is this still illegal?

A It is no longer part of the law, as the

relevant section of the Licensing Act 1964 was not included in the new legislation. No obligation is placed on the licence-holder or staff not to serve a police officer, even if he asks for a drink. It is an internal

disciplinary matter if he drinks on duty.

Several minor restrictions of the old law have been removed from consideration, simply by omitting them from the 2003 Act, which means they passed away on 24

November 2005. Those licensees who

enjoyed grandfather rights may not be aware of smaller changes in the legislation, which tidied up the law in several respects.