Licensee's form advice was wrong'

I must use this space to comment on the leading letter in last week's paper ( Licensing bureaucracy will drive us to the wall', MA, 2 June), because it would seem that Jim Bayfield has had a rum deal in Dorset.

He was told to fill in Part B of the application form for several reasons, none of which, it seems to me, are true. If he has been told this by his local authority, then they need putting right. Let's take them in order:

1. Skittles. This is indeed an indoor sport, but then so is darts. If it is played between competing teams, as it often is in the West Country, then it is not classified as an "indoor sporting event" because it is not put on for an audience for the purposes of entertainment, so it does not need to be licensed. The licensing authority should look again at the definitions in Schedule 1 of the 2003 Act.

2. Bank holiday extensions. While it is true that special orders of exemption are not carried over and will not continue, it depends on how many late-night evenings he needs in a year. If it is 12 or less, then he can use a temporary event notice without filling in Part B. That option should have been explained to him by the council.

3. New Year extensions. This is quite a common mistake. New Year extensions are now embodied in the Licensing Act and therefore carry over for everyone as of right. There is absolutely no need to seek special permission for the night of 31 December any more, because you can open all night if you really want to. Such a right does not need to be laid out in Part B.

So, with a little bit of luck, Jim can fix it for his pub without going through the nightmare of a variation. And I shall be contacting him to tell him so.

I might add that this is only one example of the blind leading the blind that we are picking up on a daily basis. Please contact me if you have any doubts about what you are being asked to write on your forms.