Proposal slammed: 14 problems with licensing conditions

The BBPA opposed the concept of a standard pool of conditions set out by the Institute of Licensing, and has advised against many of the conditions in a consultation.

The BBPA believes it would encourage a blanket use of conditions rather than considering each case on its merits.  

The Institute of Licensing has stated intentions to move away from blanket conditions.

It fears conditions will be used inappropriately and disproportionately, potentially conditions being enforced on pubs when more appropriate for clubs.

BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: "While the proposals do attempt to highlight that blanket conditions are not appropriate, this itself shows the inherent problems with the approach they are trying to adopt. I hope they will think again and reassess the fundamental principles of what is being proposed. Pubs need less regulation rather than more.

"Conditions should only be applied to a Premises Licence when absolutely necessary and they must be appropriate to the style and type of operation in that premises."

14 of the BBPA’s problems with the guidance are listed below. The full consultation can be found at www.instituteoflicensing.org​

1. Restrictions on alcohol content in drinks restricts sale of craft beer and cider, so would target the wrong areas.
2. Pubs would reject door supervisors having to wear high visibility jackets.
3. Noise conditions are too complicated, and the need for sophisticated monitoring systems would be unfair on pubs.
4. Limiting the number of people in a venue would require security – which is only appropriate for some types of premises, unlikely with community pubs.
5. Ensuring all public areas of premises are covered by CCTV is “unrealistic”. You can’t cover toilets!
6. Searching customers entering and leaving, monitored by CCTV, would be “extremely onerous, and practically very difficult”.
7. Forcing premises to submit a risk assessment at least 14 days before advertised events with DJs between certain hours would be an unreasonable restriction for pubs hosting discos.
8. Requiring queues to be inside barriers could need approval from the Highways Authority, and prove costly and time consuming.
9. Complying to an Event Management Plan by a Licensing Authority could mean “hundreds of pages of badly worded conditions”.
10. Only allowing customers to enter and leave through certain entrances at certain times would be “overly proscriptive” and could lead to difficulties in emergencies.
11. A condition to prevent people under a certain age to “remain” off-site when alcohol is being served “goes further than current legislation and would be difficult to enforce”.
12. Supervising all queues at all times would be impractical – it should only be at certain times.
13. The condition that pubs must make announcements for customers to leave quietly may be impossible in practice.
14. Only being allowed to serve drinks in plastic cups would be impractical for hot drinks.

In response to the BBPA's criticism, a chairman of IoL Daniel Davies said: "The Institute of Licensing (IoL) is disappointed that BBPA has chosen to comment prematurely on the Institute’s Licensing Conditions Project. Our draft proposals are still out for consultation and our final Guidance will fully reflect the responses we receive.  This consultation has benefited enormously from the constructive views expressed from a wide range of stakeholders including trade bodies, local authorities, police forces, licensing lawyers and individual professionals.

"The purpose of this project was as much about getting a fairer deal for operators who find they are continually facing silly or badly drafted conditions and have to challenge them, as it was about engaging constructively with responsible authorities which propose conditions. The primary purpose of the consultation document was to move away from blanket or inappropriate conditions. The consultation provides the opportunity for those that respond to comment on both the principles and the detail of our suggestions, and we are very grateful to those trade bodies that have given us constructive operational input. We are confident that as a result of our open dialogue and debate with all stakeholders that we will get a good outcome that will command broad support."