by Richard Williams of thePublican.com's legal team from London solicitors Joelson Wilson.
If you are the holder of a public entertainment licence, it is likely that at some stage you will be notified by the council that you are breaching one of the conditions of your licence.
As you will be aware, licence conditions can often be complex and lengthy and are not standardised across the country.
Accordingly, in some cases, it is unrealistic to expect a licence holder to memorise all of the conditions relating to a licence.
In some cases, it is inevitable that the breach of a condition will occur, even if this is only a very technical breach.
What should you do if you are notified by the council that you have breached a condition and that they wish to interview you under caution about this breach?
Well, the first piece of advice is don't panic. If the council is alleging that you have breached a condition of a licence and have therefore committed a criminal offence (punishable with a £5,000 fine or a £20,000 if it relates to excessive occupancy) it may wish to interview you and may give you a date for the interview to take place. You are not required to attend the interview under caution and your attendance will be on a voluntary basis.
Do not, under any circumstances, allow the council to force you to attend an interview, when you do not wish to do so.
In this situation, you should seek legal advice immediately. You would be well advised to have legal representation if you do decide to attend an interview but it may by that this would not be a good idea, as you may only provide the council with the necessary evidence to launch a prosecution against you.
I would advise anyone in this situation to consult their legal advisors to decide whether they should attend an interview under caution.
Above all, do not ignore letters from the local authority as you are likely to be prosecuted without having a chance to put your side of the story.