Revised mandatory licensing conditions issued dealing with drinks promotions

Draft amendments to the mandatory licence conditions dealing with ‘irresponsible’ drinks promotions have been issued by the Government.

The revised conditions will take effect on 1 October 2014.

Jonathan Smith, of specialist licensing law firm Poppleston Allen, said the main change was that a provision had been dropped under which a drinks promotion was irresponsible only if carried on in a manner which 'carries a significant risk' of undermining one of the licensing objectives.

These objectives are: prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; prevention of public nuisance; and protection of children from harm.

The revised order splits definitions of irresponsible drinks promotions into five categories, some of which are not qualified by the requirement that it carries such a significant risk.

Smith said three categories are illegal under any circumstances: dispensing alcohol directly into a person's mouth; a game or activity which encourages people to drink a quantity of alcohol within a certain time limit (other than drinking up time), or to drink as much alcohol as possible; and selling alcohol in association with any posters / flyers in the vicinity of the premises, which can reasonably be considered to condone, encourage or glamorise anti-social behaviour, or the effects of drunkenness, in a favourable manner. 

But he said that unlimited or unspecified quantities of alcohol being sold free, or for a fixed or discounted fee, and the provision of free or discounted alcohol as a prize, to encourage or reward purchase or consumption of alcohol over a period of 24 hours or less, were now only irresponsible if carried with a significant risk to one of the objectives.

He said: “Therefore, drinks promotions which are commonly run across the country which discount alcohol on a certain evening of the week, are only deemed to be irresponsible in the event that they are carried out in a manner which carries with it a significant risk to the licensing objectives.”

This was significantly different to the situation in Scotland, he noted, where all specified drinks promotions are banned outright.

Mark Smulian