Far from child's play

Andrew Woods examines the confusion that can often be found amongst operators and responsible authorities as to the position regarding children on licensed premises.

Despite the fact that the Licensing Act 2003 has been in force for a number of years, there still appears to be confusion amongst operators and responsible authorities as to the position regarding children on licensed premises and this topic probably raises more questions than any other.

An example of one of the questions usually asked is whether or not those under the age of 18 can consume alcohol with a meal and if so whether in an area set aside for food or in a bar area. The law specifies that people between the ages of 16 and 18 can drink wine, beer or cider with a table meal as long as the drink is purchased by an adult. This can take place anywhere in the premises including the bar or an area set aside as a restaurant. This is different from the law under the Licensing Act 1964. It should be noted, however, that 16-year olds cannot purchase their own alcoholic drink when consuming a meal. There still remains the strict liability offence of adults buying alcohol on behalf of youngsters i.e. taking money from them, buying the alcohol and then giving the alcohol back to them. Adults are quite properly allowed to buy drinks for those aged between 16 and 18 with a meal but not as an agent.

The Licensing Act 2003 (section 145(1)) also makes it an offence for an unaccompanied child ('child' meaning an individual under 16) to remain on a premises when they are open for the supply of alcohol for consumption. A child is unaccompanied if he is not in the company of an individual aged 18 or over. There is, however, no offence if the unaccompanied child is simply passing through the premises and there is no other convenient way to go (section 145(5)).

There is, however, a distinction between licensed premises and relevant premises in that section 145(1) refers to a person committing an offence if he knows the premises are relevant premises. The exact wording of (section 145(1) is as follows:

A person to whom subsection (3) applies commits an offence if:
(a) knowing that relevant premises are within subsection (4) he allows an unaccompanied child to be on the premises at a time when they are open for the purposes of being used for the supply of alcohol for consumption there; or
(b) he allows an unaccompanied child to be on relevant premises at a time between the hours of midnight and 5:00am when the premises are open for the purposes of being used for the supply of alcohol for consumption there.

Section 145(3) applies to:

(a) any person who works at the premises in a capacity…which authorises him to request an unaccompanied child to leave the premises
(b) a premises licence holder or DPS
(c) in the case of a club, any member or officer of the club who is present in such a capacity which enables him to make such a request.

It must be noted, however, that section 145(4) states relevant premises are within the subsection if:

(a) they are exclusively or primarily used for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises; or
(b) they are open for the purposes of being used for the supply of alcohol on the premises by virtue of Part 5 (permitted temporary activity) and at the time the Temporary Event Notice in question has effect they are exclusively or primarily used for such supplies.

The key point to note here is that the offence of allowing those under 16 on licensed premises without an accompanying adult is only committed if the premises are relevant premises, which means they are primarily used for alcohol. There is therefore a whole range of licensed premises which would not be classed as relevant premises such as bowling alleys, snooker halls, cinemas and possibly many other multi-purpose venues.

Section 182 of the guidance to the Licensing Act 2003 also deals with this issue at paragraph 13.43 and 13.44 and confirms the general prohibition against allowing children under 16 who are unaccompanied to be on relevant premises and the additional prohibition between midnight and 5:00am. The guidance goes onto consider the meaning of "exclusively and primarily" in relation to alcohol and paragraph 13.45 states "the expression should be given its ordinary and natural meaning in the context of the particular circumstances. It would normally be quite clear that the business been operated at the premises is predominantly the sale and consumption of alcohol".

What is clear, however, is that licensed premises such as hotels where the main business will be the provision of accommodation and cinemas where the main business will be watching the films and snooker halls where the main business will be playing snooker will not be relevant premises and will not therefore be covered by section 145 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Andrew Woods is a partner at Walker Morris. He can be contacted on 0113 283 2500 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..