by Claire Davies and Richard Williams of thePublican.com's legal team of experts from London soliciotrs Joelson Wilson
We are often asked by licensees to make supper hour certificate applications for the "whole" of the licensed area in a pub/restaurant. Often, applications that should not technically be granted, will slip through the net and are approved at court.
However, some committees strictly enforce the Licensing Act 1964, to the letter of the law. If your pub is located in an area where this happens, then you should ensure that any application is properly thought out before it is submitted.
You should be aware that the act requires the area to be covered by a supper hour certificate to be "usually set apart" for the service of table meals. This means that you should set aside or reserve an area exclusively for the service of meals, to be covered by your certificate. The area should not just be a bar area with tables that can be used for the consumption of meals.
A supper hour certificate grants an extension of one additional hour at the end of permitted hours, to permit alcohol to be served to customers who have consumed a meal and ancillary to that meal.
This would allow alcohol to be served to a customer who has had a meal, not only at the table but, for example, in a coffee lounge after the meal. A supper hour certificate does not allow you to serve alcohol for an additional hour to customers who have not had a meal.
An application for a supper hour certificate is not complex, but you are legally required to give seven days notice of the application to the court and to the police (some courts will normally expect more notice to be given of the application), to pay a fee of £25 and to lodge a plan showing the area where the certificate will apply.
Different courts have different requirements for plans. You will also need to send the court and the police a copy of your menu.
It may be worth applying for a supper hour certificate now, as the benefit of the additional trading hour for service of alcohol with meals should be carried over when you apply for your new premises licence, when the transitional provisions of the new licensing act come into force. The government has indicated an intention to allow all existing trading hours to continue under a new premises licence, in line with the "grandfather rights" principle of the bill.