The Licensing Act 2003 is commonly referred to as LA03. This is a single integrated scheme for licensing premises in England and Wales, which sell or supply alcohol, provide regulated entertainment or provide late night refreshment.
Licensable activities include:
- the retail sale of alcohol
- the supply of alcohol in clubs
- the provision of late-night refreshment
- the provision of regulated entertainment
LAO3 covers all businesses that sell and supply alcohol. There are several different businesses types that need to apply for and obtain a licence, in order to sell alcohol.
These include:
- pubs and bars
- cinemas
- theatres
- nightclubs
- late-opening cafes
- takeaways
- village and community halls
- supermarkets
There are a number of different licences that sit under the Act. This covers single premises licences, personal licences, flexible opening hours and temporary events notices (TENs).
Personal Licence- allows a person to serve and authorise the sale of alcohol, under a premises licence.
Premise Licence- is required for any premise that intends on serving and selling alcohol.
Temporary Event Notices (TENs)- any event that would need a premises licence, but for a maximum of 168 hours and a maximum of 499 people.
Flexible Opening Hours- a licence for a licensed premise, that wishes to serve alcohol for up to 24 hours.
The act is constantly being revised and revisited.
In April 2018, the government revised the guidance for licensing of TENs, beer gardens and police representations. As of November 2005, the responsibility for issuing licences sits with local authorities. A licensing committee within the local authority, with between ten and fifteen members oversee licensing in the area, with most decisions being made by a sub-committee of around three members.
verso™ is an award-winning licensing automation software. This software is a cloud-based solution that helps the licensing team decrease the administration time within the application process, provide auditable checks and disseminates information to other interested parties.
Once granted, verso™ shares data between Personal, Premises and TENs notices and variations, which decreases the time taken to process and validate the application.
