A Home Office consultation, ‘Personal Alcohol Licences: Enabling Targeted, Local Alternatives’, began last month, dealing with whether the requirement for personal licences to sell alcohol in England and Wales should be revoked. The Home Office is considering, as an alternative, enabling licensing authorities to apply relevant conditions to premises licences where appropriate.
The Current System
The sale of alcohol in England and Wales is controlled by way of premises licences granted by each local authority. Every premises licence currently requires a Designated Premises Supervisor (“DPS”) to be assigned to the premises and it is the DPS who assumes responsibility for all sales of alcohol at the premises. The Licensing Act 2003 requires, furthermore, that every DPS holds a personal licence.
To ensure the responsible sale of alcohol a criminal records declaration must be made by persons who wish to obtain a personal licence. Personal licences are denied to, or forfeited from, those who have criminal convictions for certain offences. Personal licence holders are also trained through courses accredited by the Secretary of State. This training can currently be verified through inspection of the personal licence application and subsequently by inspection of the personal licence itself at the premises.
The Home Office Focus
One of the main focuses of the Home Office has been to free up the licensing controls for the responsible majority, whilst maintaining the necessary safeguards in relation to alcohol supply. The Minister of State for Crime Prevention, Jeremy Browne, is of the view that the current system of personal licences may not be the most efficient and effective way of tackling crime and disorder, with the same system applying to busy city centre bars, as applies to quiet local pubs. One particular concern of the present system is its significant cost to all businesses by way of application, training and criminal record fees, which in some cases is disproportionate to the potential level of risk.
Potential New Approach
The alternative procedure that is being considered by the Home Office would require all alcohol sales to be made as authorised by a DPS, as at present, but without the DPS needing to have a personal licence and to have attended an accredited alcohol training course, unless this is a specific condition required by the premises licence of the particular premises in question.
It is suggested that it should be possible for the safeguards over the sale of alcohol to be enforced by licensing conditions within the premises licence as licensing authorities already have the power to impose precise, enforceable and appropriate conditions in premises licences in order to promote the licensing objectives, by reference to the specific venue and locality.
The potential abolition of personal licences would be a further illustration of a shift towards a more flexible and targeted approach to alcohol licensing in England and Wales. Previous steps have included removing the requirement to renew personal licences, increasing the limit for Temporary Event Notice applications and creating the Community and Ancillary Notice.
The Consultation period ended on the 7th November and we await confirmation as to the Home Office’s position on personal licences going forward.
Please note that this information is provided for general knowledge only and therefore specific advice should be sought for individual cases.
For further information, please contact Philip Shotter at or Andrew Nicklinson at
