Department for Culture Media and Sport
crime and disorder
The Licensing Act 2003 contains powers for dealing with the small number of businesses who fail to comply with licensing law.
- General information
- Closing time
- Selling alcohol to someone who is drunk
- Disorderly conduct on licensed premises
- Removing people who are drunk from your premises
- Police closure powers
- Problem premises
- Children
General information
The Act retained or modernised the alcohol related disorder offences of:
- Allowing disorderly conduct on licensed premises which, on conviction could result in a fine of up to £1,000 and, if the offender is a personal licence holder, the possible suspension or forfeiture of that licence
- Failure without reasonable excuse of any person who is drunk or disorderly to leave licensed premises at the request of a constable or anyone working at the premises as well as the designated premises supervisor, premises licence holder or, in the case of an event held under a temporary event notice, the premises user with a fine on conviction of up to £200
- Selling, or attempting to sell, or allowing alcohol to be sold to a person who is drunk with a fine on conviction of up to £1,000, and if the offender is a personal licence holder, possible suspension or forfeiture of that licence
- Knowingly obtaining or attempting to obtain alcohol for a person who is drunk with a fine on conviction of up to £200
Closing time
The Act abolished fixed and artificially early closing times which:
- Encouraged binge drinking
- Resulted in large numbers of young people leaving pubs and bars onto the streets at the same time
Selling alcohol to someone who is drunk
Under the Act it is an offence to sell alcohol, or attempt to sell alcohol, to a person who is drunk, or knowingly to allow alcohol to be sold to such a person. Potential offenders include:
- Anyone who works at the premises in a capacity (whether paid or unpaid) which gives them authority to sell the alcohol
- The holder of the premises licence and the designated premises supervisor (if any) and, in the case of a club
- Any member or officer of the club who is present on the premises in a capacity which enables them to prevent it
In the case of premises used for a permitted temporary activity, the premises user in relation to the temporary event notice in question could also commit these offences.
It is also an offence to obtain or attempt to obtain alcohol for consumption on licensed premises for a person who is drunk.
The sentence, on conviction for these offences, is a fine of up to £1,000.
Disorderly conduct on licensed premises
It is an offence for premises staff, licence holders, designated supervisors, any member or officer of a club or a temporary event notice holder to knowingly allow disorderly conduct on licensed premises. The sentence, on conviction for this offence, is a fine of up to £1,000.
Removing people who are drunk from your premises
A person who is drunk or disorderly commits an offence if he fails to leave relevant premises at the request of:
- A police constable
- Any person who works at the premises in a capacity (whether paid or unpaid) authorising him to make such a request
- The premises licence holder or designated premises supervisor (if any)
- An officer or member of a club who is present at the time of sale in a capacity which enables him to make such a request
- The premises user relating to the relevant temporary event notice
On being requested to do so by one of the above class of persons a police constable must help expel drunk or disorderly patrons and prevent their readmission to the relevant premises. The sentence on conviction of this offence is a fine of up to £200.
Police closure powers
The Act expands police application of court powers, to close all licensed premises and premises with a temporary event notice for up to 24 hours, where disorder is occurring or anticipated. This includes pubs, nightclubs, restaurants and hotels and one off raves.
It also bans the sale of alcohol on any moving motor vehicle and brings river and coastal "booze cruises" into the licensing regime (previously, these could be organised for 14 year olds), extending the police closure powers to them.
Guidance on Police Powers to Close Premises under the Licensing Act 2003 (PDF 182kb)
Problem premises
Where establishments are not meeting the licensing objectives [link to Licensing guidance], the Act includes measures to review their licence straight away, rather than needing to wait until the licensee applied to renew the premise licence. This allows the police, or any interested party to ask the licensing authority to review a licence at any time in relation to the four licensing objectives.
It allows a range of measures to be taken, rather than just not renewing the licence as under the past system:
- Temporary or permanent reduction in trading hours
- Temporary or permanent reduction in licensable activities
- Temporary or permanent modification of other conditions attached to the licence or club premises certificate
- Removal of designated premises supervisor from the licence; and
- Suspension or revocation of licences or club premises certificates
Children
The Licensing Act 2003 made it an offence to sell alcohol to people under 18 anywhere in England and Wales, removing many previous exceptions and exemptions. This includes non-profit making clubs, of which there are 22,000 in England and Wales – approximately 17 per cent of all drinking establishments.
The maximum fine for selling or supplying alcohol to children is £5,000. Personal licences can be suspended or forfeited at first offence.
