Abolishing personal licences to sell alcohol would reduce administrative burdens, but proposals unclear, says expert

Audrey Ferrie of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the Government's consultation on further changes to the licensing regime in England and Wales was "unclear" on whether the proposed new requirement for a designated premises supervisor (DPS) would need to give specific authorisation of  every sale, or whether general authorisation would suffice.

"The proposal that all alcohol sales would require to be made or authorised by the DPS rather than any personal licence holder could mark a return to the early days of implementation of the 2003 Licensing Act," she said. "The proposals are unclear on whether specific or general authorisation is required, so this may give rise to practical difficulties for operators who cannot expect a DPS to be present on the premises throughout opening hours."

Ferrie said that although the proposal to abolish personal licences would seem "very attractive" to larger operators, on whom the current regulations impose a heavy administrative and financial burden, "almost everyone involved in the licensed trade would welcome a period of stability, and less tinkering with the legislation".

"While operators will save on renewals of and applications for personal licences, local authorities will still have the power to impose conditions on premises licences requiring training of staff," she said. "This raises the possibility of differences between local authority areas. In addition, if the proposals go ahead, the police will have wider powers to object to a new DPS based on the crime prevention objective rather than in 'exceptional circumstances'."

Under the current regime, all alcohol sales in England and Wales must be authorised by a personal licence holder who has completed training on the risks alcohol can present if handled irresponsibly and undergone a criminal records check. The place of sale must also hold a premises licence, and appoint a DPS who must also hold a personal licence. The system is intended to ensure that alcohol is sold responsibly.

As part of last year's Alcohol Strategy consultation, the Home Office sought initial views on the need for a personal licence holder. Feedback from that consultation suggested that personal licences were "not always ... the most efficient and effective way of tackling crime and disorder", and that they resulted in "significant" costs to businesses in application fees, training and criminal records checks, according to the Home Office.

The new consultation, which is open for feedback until 7 November, firstly proposes giving licensing authorities the power to impose locally appropriate conditions on licensed premises as part of the grant of a premises licence. These powers already exist as long as the conditions are precise, enforceable and appropriate to promote the licensing objectives for the premises in question. Doing so would enable licensing authorities to impose the need for training or criminal records checks in appropriate cases, while allowing "well run businesses" to escape unnecessary regulation, according to the consultation.

In order to "ensure that licensing authorities could use such conditions in a flexible way", the Government could potentially retain the national benchmarks in relation to training and criminal records checks in cases where these are used. This would mean that premises where these conditions were imposed would not have to comply with different local standards from one licensing authority to another, it said.

The consultation also raises the possibility of strengthening the existing legislation in relation to the DPS. It asks whether all alcohol sales should be made or authorised by the DPS, rather than a personal licence holder; whether police should be allowed to object to a new DPS for the purposes of crime prevention; and whether licensing authorities should require a criminal records declaration to be provided with any new application to vary a DPS.