Clarification on display of hours

I have been taken to task ­ very politely, of course ­ by a licensing officer (many of whom read the Morning Advertiser, you will be pleased to learn).

He thinks that my reply to a reader about the display of hours (MA, 7 April) is wrong, and he points to the new requirement under the 2003 Act for a summary of the licence to be posted up at the premises, containing, among other things, "the permitted hours and the hours of opening of the premises".

You will notice immediately that my prediction that the phrase "permitted hours" would stay with us was right ­ it will mean in future the hours that the licensing authority permits you to open for business. Whether this is technically right in law is debatable ­ but back to the main point.

I agree that a summary of the licence is required to be "prominently displayed at the premises" in future. However, the style and format of the summary is laid down by law, and is likely to result in a sheet, or two sheets of paper, probably of A4 size, supplied by the licensing authority.

So the licensee has no control over this display, and certainly is not required to position this summary outside the premises, or in a size and style similar to the opening hours displays that shops and stores now use.

I should also point out that there is no requirement, as now, for premises to be open on every day, or even any day, for the full time permitted under the terms of the premises licence. In fact, there is going to be some considerable debate about what to put on the summary when premises have been unopposed in asking for 24/7, as some intend to do, merely to cater for unusual occasions or special events.

So I stand by my response that a licensee will not be legally required to publish his hours of opening for passers-by to see. His licence summary may be prominently displayed, for example, at a corner of the bar, or on a notice board. The type size used by local authorities is unlikely to be larger than 14 or 16 point, given the information to be included. Customers will need to be close at hand to see exactly what hours are applied to those premises.

What will be interesting is if a licensing authority makes it a condition to display opening hours outside the pub. Which one of the licensing objectives would this requirement relate to, I wonder?