A year of upheaval

2012 looks set to bring a number of significant changes to licensing laws. Andrew Woods looks at some of the main proposals.

There are so many changes proposed to licensing legislation in 2012 that will impact on the industry in a number of ways that I thought it was a good time to produce a brief summary of these changes. Coupled with some ongoing issues this summary will allow operators and authorities to remind themselves of the importance of keeping abreast of what is planned and at the same time make arrangements to prepare for these changes.

1. Live Music Bill to Amend Alcohol Licensing Law

A revised live music bill passed through Parliament on Friday 20 January which subject to final approval will allow smaller music venues with a capacity of 200 or less to host live music without the need to amend the Premises Licence or apply for a Temporary Event Notice.

The proposed changes will also allow acoustic performances to be permitted without the need for any licence or temporary event notice.

2. Alcohol Minimum Pricing Scotland Bill

The main purpose of the bill is to introduce a minimum price of alcohol below which alcohol must not be sold on licensed premises. The minimum price will be set according to the strength of the alcohol, the volume of the alcohol and the minimum price per unit.

The bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 31 October 2011 and the Health and Support Committee was designated as lead committee in consideration of the bill at stage 1 with a deadline of 9 March 2012 for that stage.

There are a total of three stages for the bill to pass through. Written evidence and oral evidence submission sessions have been called for with the committee intending to publish its report and the evidence they have received by the end of February 2012. The bill at this stage does not state the level at which it is proposed that the minimum unit price will be set. However, the explanatory notes to the bill used 45 pence as an example.

3. Proposed Changes to Temporary Event Notice Legislation

A summary of the proposed changes are as follows:

• Environmental Health Authority can object.
• Objections can relate to any licensing objective.
• Conditions can be added.
• Late notices can be given.
• Increase in number and duration of events per premises.
• Longer objection period.
• There will now be standard TEN’s and late TEN’s.
• Standard TEN’s are given at least ten working days before the event to the local licensing authority.
• Late TEN’s are given 5-9 working days before the event to the Licensing Authority.
• Maximum event period increases from 4-7 days.
• Maximum per premises per year increase from 15-21 days.
• Police and EHO will have three working days to object to notice.
• Earliest commencement date 6 April 2012.

4. Detailed Changes to the Licensing Act 2003

It is well reported that there are to be major changes to the Licensing Act 2003. This includes the proposed introduction of a Late Night Levy for operators who have late night premises; as well as Early Morning Restriction Orders, which allows local authorities to limit the terminal hour of licensed premises within a certain area. These changes are likely to be implemented in October 2012.

These changes will also see the decisions of licensing committees based on what is ‘appropriate’ rather than what is ‘necessary’. The latter is a significant change, as it has been difficult for local authorities to make certain decisions when considering licensing applications on the basis that those decisions have to be seen as ‘necessary’ and will also have to be based on evidence.

There is a real difference between finding something is ‘necessary’ as opposed to ‘appropriate’. If a local authority decision is based on what is ‘appropriate’ then that is a much more subjective approach and one which can no doubt be clarified more regularly in their reasons. In practice this will give the local authority licensing committees freedom in making decisions and potentially make it much more difficult for some licensing applications to be granted even in areas in where there is no cumulative impact zone.

5. Sky TV

The legal cases over the showing of Premier League and international matches through foreign distributors of satellite TV and not through Sky TV rumbles on both in Magistrates’ Courts and the High Court. It is now reported that thousands of pub landlords will face heavy fines as the Premier League and BSkyB begin a campaign of prosecutions against pubs that illegally broadcast English football matches.

Although the European Courts have said that the arrangement between the Premier League and B Sky B may be contrary to European legislation, courts in the UK have found that pubs violate League copyright when customers can view footage of games when provided either via Sky Sports without a commercial viewing agreement or through European distributors.

The recent High Court case has led to one of Britain’s main distributors of foreign ‘pay per view’ to cease trading and it is reported that it has ceased trading on the basis that the latest High Court judgment found the Premier League was "entitled to copyright protection of certain artistic works and graphics that formed part of the relevant broadcast of football matches in these proceedings".

Though the agreement between BSkyB and the Premier League may be contrary to the European legislation, to date the High Court has confirmed that the Premier League is entitled to copyright protection. We all now await with great interest the High Court case involving Karen Murphy, the Portsmouth landlady who will seek to have her case overturned in court next week.

Conclusion

The changes to legislation mean that all operators must carefully assess the impact of these changes on their business and plan for these changes as soon as possible.  I will be happy to answer further questions on specific points or indeed assess the impact on the proposed changes on particular circumstances. I will be writing more detailed articles on these points individually in forthcoming weeks.

Andrew Woods is a partner at Woods Whur. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .