Airport ops with a sting in the tail

I was interested to note that Sussex Police had carried out sting operations for underage sales at Gatwick Airport and are now campaigning for the licensing exemptions for airports to be removed, presumably so that they can bring the full force of the "revised" Licensing Act down on airport bar operators.

In fact, it is not just airports that are exempt: there are seven specified places in the 2003 Act that do not need a premises licence, because the activities there are deemed "not licensable". It is also open to the Secretary of State to prescribe other places to be exempted, although at present I am not aware of any additions.

The actual wording used about airports is "examination station". It is defined under Customs & Excise legislation as the place where passengers embark or disembark, known colloquially as "airside" to mean the part where you have gone through passport control and scanning and are, effectively, "out of the country".

The similar expression used for boats and hovercraft is "approved wharf", which also means the part of the port where you have passed through Customs controls.

I confess that I am surprised that test purchases were permitted in such places, given the fact they are not licensed premises and no offence would be committed in any event

if sales were made for consumption by minors.

I am not sure under what authority Sussex Police could embark on such a project, given the fact that there are special rules which apply to persons other than passengers who are allowed to pass through into the airside area and work or operate there.

But to seek to change the law in this respect also brings into play cross-channel ferries, royal palaces, aircraft and trains, not to mention Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) canteens (full of 16-year-old recruits) and probably GCHQ in Cheltenham!

All of these are technically exempt from the licensing laws, so presumably are a source of serious concern to Sussex Police for underage drinking and late-night carousing. Now, of course, is a great time to add all this lot to the list for reform that is being prepared by the Home Office.

If I am being slightly flippant about this, it is merely that I should have thought hard-pressed police in the south-east had more important things to do than go for an afternoon with a couple of schoolchildren to the South Terminal to see if they could get a beer.

Q&A​

Fixed closing time​

Q.​ You may have dealt with this before, but is there a fixed closing time for pubs after the hours stated on the premises licence and posted up in the bar? I ask this because our local officer says it is half an hour maximum for everyone, regardless of the type of licensed premises.

A.​ I search in vain for this rule in the legislation or in subsequent Orders. If you are reporting correctly, a universal rule on closing ought to be somewhere. But it isn't.

What some local authorities have done, however, as I have mentioned before, is to seek to import the "old" drinking-up times into the new premises licences and from this they have inferred that there is a need to close the premises after that. It is not the case.

If there has been a variation of the licence, some authorities have expected to see such a curfew in the box which covers "hours premises are open to the public". Immediately prior to transition, this was 24 hours, as there was legally no requirement for licensed premises physically to close up outside permitted hours. Transition did not require pubs to lose this right.

There is a wide variation on this point and unfortunately many pubs were misled into thinking they had to restrict opening times, or that this could be imposed even on straight conversions.

Once it is on, however, I suspect that in some areas it would be difficult to remove in the current climate.

Unstamped glass poser​

Q.​ I was in a local social club for a meeting the other day and saw the steward using unstamped (oversize) glasses for beer. When I pointed this out, he said you had told him it was not illegal. Why not?

A.​ There is in fact no requirement for clubs with a premises certificate to have Government-stamped measuring equipment, because the transaction taking place there is not "sale by retail" under weights and measures legislation.

The situation is entirely different from a pub, where the customer is entitled to receive a full measure in accordance with trading standards law.

The licensee must comply with all the rules on measuring instruments and full measure, because the law requires that the customer must obtain what he contracts to obtain, and no less.

Members' clubs do not "sell by retail" and, therefore, the rules governing measuring do not directly apply to them. However, most clubs use accurate measuring equipment for stock control purposes and to avoid fraud or dishonesty, and most members would expect to receive full measure in their own club.

Written authority​

Q.​ In one weekend we had two inspection visits to the pub while I was away. On the second occasion my barman was told he had to carry written authority from me to sell while he was on duty. Is this right?

A.​ It is not a legal requirement, but in a recommendation from the relevant Government department some years ago it was suggested that a proper delegation of authority ought to be carried out if an unlicensed person was put in charge of the bar. This is an extension of that.

If you are absent (ie, away on holiday) a formal delegation is advisable. It is not, however, necessary for this to be in the barman's pocket, but it might be helpful to have the delegation in written form, to be able to show to the authorities.

Otherwise, at first sight it would appear that the first mandatory condition is not being met properly.

For full-time staff put in charge on a regular basis, a personal licence would be a good idea and then this problem would never occur because they could sell in their own right.