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Licensing Act 2003
The Licensing Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 14 November 2002. The Bill completed its passage through the Lords on 11 March 2003 and was introduced into the Commons the next day. On 10 July, the Licensing Act 2003 received Royal Assent.
The new Act provides a balanced package of freedoms and safeguards. It will clamp down on crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour perpetrated by a minority and give the responsible majority more freedom and choice about how they spend their leisure time.
The Act can be accessed at the HMSO website. Explanatory notes have been published to accompany the Act and can be accessed from the same website.
A further draft of the Guidance the Secretary of State proposes to be issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 can be accessed here: Section 182 Guidance (please note this is a large document, and may take some time to download). Key measures contained in the Act are:
- flexible opening hours, with the potential for up to 24 hour opening, seven days a week, subject to consideration of the impact on local residents This will help to minimise public disorder resulting from fixed closing times
- a single scheme for licensing premises which sell alcohol, provide public entertainment or provide refreshment late at night. This will bring together the six existing licensing regimes (alcohol, public entertainment, cinemas, theatres, late night refreshment house and night cafes) cutting down on red tape
- a new streamlined system of personal licences which will facilitate greater mobility for holders to move between premises possessing a premises licence
- personal and premises licences to be issued by local authorities after detailed strutiny of all applications by the police and other responsible bodies
The latest version of the draft guidance for local authorities was made available on 6 August 2003. The final guidance will then require Parliamentary approval, and the Department will aim to put it to Parliament, along with some secondary legislation under the Act, in September.
The first appointed day from which licences can be applied for under the new system is expected to be approximately six months after the guidance is made available to local authorities following Parliamentary approval. The second appointed day, when the new system will come into force, will be approximately ten months after the first appointed day.
This website will be updated with revised timescales as soon as they are known.
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