Licensing@aol.com ...
Age limits on licencees
's there to be an upper age limit for the holding of the new-style personal licence? I had heard that there might be a cut-off age, due to capability. This would make it impossible for older licensees to run pubs in their own name.
AI am glad to reassure you on this one. A retirement age has not been inserted into the Licensing Act and there is no legal bar to anyone holding a licence at any age.
The only way in which this is relevant is if a brewery or other trade employer sets a retirement age for their employees, such as pub managers. Under employment law, this is perfectly permissible and an employee must abide by the terms and conditions covering retirement. He or she cannot claim 'unfair dismissal if they are over the specified retirement age.
As far as the licensing authorities are concerned, however, renewal of a licence will be made until such time as the person decides to give up. In rare cases, the police have a power to object, but only on crime prevention grounds, not capability. In some cases in the past, age or infirmity has been held as a reason for refusing renewal, but this would not apply now.
There is, under the current law, technically no minimum legal age for holding a justices' licence. But under the new law a person must have reached the age of 18 before they can apply for a personal licence.
Playing cards for cash
QWe have recently moved to a pub and appear to have a small group of young people bringing their own cards to play pontoon while in the pub. Often a small amount of money changes hands. When I challenged them, they said it was private because they were using their own cards. Is this right?
AGaming on licensed premises is covered by the terms of the Gaming Act 1968. There is specific reference to premises holding a justices' licence in Part I of the Act, which exempts certain games from the general prohibition on gaming 'in any place to which the public have access.
There are two named games which are specifically allowed to be played on licensed premises. These are dominoes and cribbage. Any other games of chance would require prior authority, currently of the justices but in future the local authority, before they could lawfully be played for money. This applies just as much to spontaneous playing by customers as to games organised or provided by the licensee.
Of course, any game which is played which is not 'gaming in the legal sense is not covered by this section. For example, games of skill such as darts, pool or shove ha'penny may be played without restriction and will not require any authorisation, even if persons bet with each other on their own skill.
But other card games which are played for stakes may well come within the terms of section 6 of the Act. Pontoon most certainly is prohibited on licensed premises, by virtue of section 6(7), because it involves playing or staking against a bank, which is outlawed by section 2 of the Act. Indeed, all banker's games would be vetoed for playing in a pub. You should not allow it.
No need to return licence
QWhat will happen to my justices' licence on 24 November. It says it lasts until 4 April 2007. Shall I keep hold of it in the pub?
AKeep it as a souvenir. Unless something dramatic happens to delay the Second Appointed Day, it will become an heirloom on 24 November and will have no legal significance. There is no requirement to return it to the court.
