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The following section shall be inserted after section 193 of the principal Act—
(1) This section has effect in relation to applications for the renewal of justices' licences and canteen licences made to the general annual licensing sessions immediately preceding the expiry of a licensing period.
(2) The clerk to licensing justices may exercise on behalf of the justices their powers with respect to an application for the renewal of a justices' licence or canteen licence if—
(a) the application is not opposed; or
(b) where under this Act the application may only be refused on specified grounds, it is not opposed on a ground on which renewal may be refused.
(3) An application may not be dealt with under this section if—
(a) the justices so direct;
(b) it is made in conjunction with any other application or request with respect to the licence sought to be renewed; or
(c) in the case of an application for the renewal of a justices' licence, there is a relevant entry in the register of justices' licences maintained under this Act which relates to the applicant or the premises for which the licence is sought.
(4) An entry in the register of justices' licences is relevant for the purposes of this section if it is an entry made in pursuance of section 31 of this Act or section 163(1)(b) or 168(7)(a) of the [1983 c. 2.] Representation of the People Act 1983 (reports or convictions of bribery or treating to be entered in the register).”
(1) In section 2(3)(b) of the principal Act (number of transfer sessions to be held in any year), the words “nor more than eight” shall be omitted.
(2) The following section shall be inserted after section 192 of that Act—
(1) If a majority of the licensing justices present at a licensing sessions so resolve, they may for the purposes of that sessions constitute themselves into two or more divisions.
(2) A division constituted in accordance with this section may exercise all the powers exercisable by licensing justices under this Act and those powers shall be exercisable by a majority of the members present at a meeting of the division assembled for the purpose.
(3) The quorum of a division of justices constituted under this section shall be three.”
but this amendment is not to invalidate any proceedings at licensing sessions before the commencement of this subsection at which the licensing justices sat in divisions.
(3) In Schedule 1 to that Act (licensing committees)—
(a) in paragraph 2 (number of justices constituting committee), for the word “fifteen” there shall be substituted the words “twenty or such larger number as is for the time being authorised under paragraph 2A below.”; and
(b) after that paragraph there shall be inserted the following paragraph—
“2A. The Secretary of State may direct that such number greater than twenty as is specified in the direction shall be the maximum number of members of licensing committees and a direction under this paragraph may apply to the committees for licensing districts specified in the direction and, where it does so apply, may specify different numbers for the committees for different districts.”
After the section 193A of the principal Act inserted by section 13 above there shall be inserted the following section—
(1) On the hearing of any application under this Act relating to licensed premises or a seamen’s canteen, the licensing justices may make such order as they think just and reasonable for the payment of costs to the applicant by any person opposing the application or by the applicant to any such person.
(2) For the purposes of enforcement an order for costs made under subsection (1) above shall be treated as an order for the payment of a sum enforceable as a civil debt.”
(1) Section 169 of the principal Act (offences on licensed premises in connection with the supply of intoxicating liquor to, or its consumption by, persons under eighteen) shall have effect with the following amendments.
(2) In subsection (1) (which penalises the sale of intoxicating liquor by a licensee or his servant to a person known to be under eighteen), the word “knowingly”, in the first place where it occurs, shall be omitted.
(3) After subsection (4) there shall be inserted the following subsections—
“(4A) Where a person is charged under subsection (1) of this section with the offence of selling intoxicating liquor to a person under eighteen and he is charged by reason of his own act, it shall be a defence for him to prove—
(a) that he exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence; or
(b) that he had no reason to suspect that the person was under eighteen.
(4B) Where the person charged with an offence under subsection (1) of this section is the licence holder and he is charged by reason of the act or default of some other person, it shall be a defence for him to prove that he exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of an offence under that subsection.”
(4) For subsections (8) and (9), there shall be substituted the following subsection—
“(8) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and on a person’s second or subsequent conviction of such an offence the court may, if the offence was committed by him as the holder of a justices' licence, order that he shall forfeit the licence.”
The following section shall be inserted after section 181 of the principal Act—
(1) In any premises from which he deals wholesale the wholesaler or his servant shall not sell intoxicating liquor to a person under eighteen.
(2) In any premises from which he deals wholesale the wholesaler shall not allow a person under eighteen to make any sale of intoxicating liquor unless the sale has been specifically approved by the wholesaler or by a person of or over the age of eighteen acting on his behalf.
(3) A person under eighteen shall not in premises from which intoxicating liquor is dealt in wholesale buy or attempt to buy such liquor.
(4) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) of this section—
(a) where the person charged is charged by reason of his own act, it shall be a defence for him to prove—
(i) that he exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of an offence under that subsection; or
(ii) that he had no reason to suspect that the other person was under eighteen; and
(b) where the person charged is charged by reason of the act of some other person, it shall be a defence for him to prove that he exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of an offence under that subsection.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (3) of this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(6) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) of this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.
(7) In this section “wholesaler” and “wholesale” have the same meaning as in section 4 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979.”
The following section shall be inserted after section 171 of the principal Act—
(1) In any premises which are licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the premises only or any off-sales department of on-licensed premises, the holder of the licence shall not allow a person under eighteen to make any sale of such liquor unless the sale has been specifically approved by the holder of the licence or by a person of or over the age of eighteen acting on his behalf.
(2) The reference in subsection (1) of this section to an off-sales department of on-licensed premises is a reference to any part of premises for which a justices' on-licence has been granted which is set aside for use only for the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the premises.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.”
(1) Schedule 3 to this Act has effect for the purpose of making minor amendments of the principal Act.
(2) The enactments specified in Schedule 4 to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.
(1) This Act may be cited as the Licensing Act 1988.
(2) In this Act, “the principal Act” means the [1964 c. 26.] Licensing Act 1964.
(3) This Act shall come into force on such day or days as the Secretary of State may appoint by order made by statutory instrument, and different days may be appointed for different provisions or different purposes of the same provision.
(4) This Act extends to England and Wales only.
Licensing Act 1988