BII exam to match Scottish standards
Compulsory questions are being abolished from a popular BII exam for licensees in England and Wales.
Candidates will also be able to take exams in Turkish, Polish, Chinese and Welsh, while an interpreting service for other languages will be available, under changes announced for 2008.
Currently, candidates for the BII's Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) must answer all five questions in Part One correctly to pass.
But from 10 March, the NCPLH will mirror the BIIAB Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders. This exam paper has 40 questions - none of which are compulsory - and 28 must be answered correctly to pass.
Last year the number of compulsory questions on the NCPLH was reduced from eight to five. The BII had lobbied the Government and qualification regulators to make the compulsory section mandatory.
Announcing the changes at the BIIAB National Conference, BIIAB director Cathie Smith said: "We don't feel we have any rationale for keeping the compulsory questions in the light of what was decided in Scotland.
"Why should any pub company working in England and Wales have different criteria from Scotland for obtaining a personal licence?"
BII chief executive John McNamara denied accusations that the NCPLH had been "dumbed down" by the removal of compulsory questions. The BII stressed that questions will always be asked about key areas of a licensee's responsibility.
These include licensing objectives, the law on sales to children and drunks, and the rights of authority figures to enter the premises,
Personal licence exams
from rival group the Confederation of Professional Licensees (CPL) do not have compulsory questions and were still cleared by the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority.
Smith denied that any significant market share had been lost to the CPL.
New courses For BII:
l Award in Cooking Skills
l Level Two National Certificate in Cellar Service Installation
l Level Two Award in Assessment of Licensed Premises
l Level Three Award in Kitchen Management
l Award for Music Promoters
