Licensing Law

Licence conditions 'too standard'

01-Sep-2005

Some time ago, when the statutory guidance to local authorities was published, I commented that certain councils would find it hard to break the...

4,000 hosts cautioned over illegal sport on TV

01-Sep-2005

by John Harrington Nearly 4,000 pubs received official warnings about screening football illegally during the 'closed period last season, the Morning...

Tory front runner calls for suspension of Licensing Act

26-Aug-2005

The bookies' favourite as the next Tory leader has urged the government to suspend implementation of the Licensing Act.Shadow Home Secretary David...

Licensees in the lurch over licence applications

25-Aug-2005

Licensees across the country who paid solicitors, consultants and agents to handle their applications are discovering they have been left in the...

Newspaper ad encourages objections to late licences

25-Aug-2005

Licensees in Kingston, Surrey, claim residents are inciting objections to their applications for late licences after they placed a full-page advert...

Licensing appeals to flood courts

25-Aug-2005

Chatting with the Westminster justices' office the other day, I learned that instead of the expected winding down of activity, they are winding...

The late-licence sector

18-Aug-2005

The PMA Team takes a peek into his crystal ball How will late-licence operators fare under the new licensing regime? Some well-seasoned observers...

Trying times for late licence bids?

18-Aug-2005

Optimistic noises are being heard from many parts of the country, now that up to 50,000 premises may have 'missed the cut and need to make full...

Licensing mess

15-Aug-2005

I run a pub which was recently sold by a major pub company as part of an Office of Fair Trading ruling. This pub company had offered to take full...

An early licence for Toby

11-Aug-2005

Toby Kheng, from Lincolnshire, has become probably the youngest person in England and Wales to gain a personal licence under the Licensing Act 2003....

What lurks beneath licensing avalanche?

11-Aug-2005

The final rush of applications to beat the deadline has now ended, but there are bound to be a few anxious faces out there wondering how things will...

Sky, damned Sky and its football spend statistics

11-Aug-2005

Last year, Sky charged me £16 per game for PremPlus. I paid this, not because I thought there would be a good audience for football at Saturday...

Pubs set to avoid licensing disaster

04-Aug-2005

A last minute rush of applications appears to have averted the predicted licensing disaster for pubs - just two days off deadline day.Latest figures...

The world is changing fast for independent operators

04-Aug-2005

As well as suggesting that freetraders are taking a more hands-on approach in overseeing the running of their businesses, our survey reveals a...

Sky's new blow removes summer break option

04-Aug-2005

Following articles in the Morning Advertiser relating to the outrageous increase in Sky subscription rates, I would like to make you aware of what I...

Trade chiefs to cast eye over smoking licences

04-Aug-2005

by Ewan Turney Industry chiefs are set to explore the option of pressing the Government to introduce smoking licences following a call from one of...

Police resisting hours flexibility

04-Aug-2005

It is hardly surprising that the completion of licensing appli-cation forms reveals widely-dif- fering approaches and widely- differing reactions...

Police use on-the-spot

04-Aug-2005

fines in under-18s blitz by John Harrington Two bar workers in Brighton are among the first to be issued with £80 on-the-spot fines in England and...

Hosts swamp FACT over Sky

04-Aug-2005

Around 25 licensees a week have been contacting the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) with enquiries about firms that offer cheap...

Still time for licence applications, says Purnell

28-Jul-2005

It's not too late - that's the message to licensees with the deadline for conversion licence applications looming. Speaking exclusively to The...

TV footy crackdown as rival offers cheap deal

28-Jul-2005

by John Harrington Licensees are being warned of another crackdown on those showing Premiership football illegally this season. It comes as another...

Glasgow Licensing Board denies reports on plastic glasses

26-Jul-2005

Glasgow licensing chiefs have hit back at reports that they want to rush through a plan to impose plastic glasses on pubs across the city.The Glasgow...

Legal advice: Heat of the moment

26-Jul-2005

By Keith Miller of thePublican.com's team of legal experts from London solicitors Joelson Wilson.There is a strange concept in employment law known...

Football watching rises but spending is down

21-Jul-2005

by Ewan Turney People watch live football in pubs more now than ever but spend less when they do so. That is a key finding of an exclusive poll of...

Police try to revoke Syndicate's licence

21-Jul-2005

Police are bidding to close down one of the UK's biggest nightclubs, the Syndicate at Blackpool, claiming the venue is responsible for 40% of...

Remember personal licence date

21-Jul-2005

With all the publicity about 6 August as the cut-off date for 'grandfather rights for existing premises, it may be missed that it is also the cut-off...

Ouch!: Sky stings pub subscribers

21-Jul-2005

Some hosts hit by 29% subscription rate hikes by Tony Halstead Some licensees are facing Sky subscription increases of close to 29% following the...

North Norfolk set to award most 24-hour licences

21-Jul-2005

North Norfolk looks likely to be the most-densely packed region for pubs with licences for 24-hour opening after the council authorised the first...

Thousands face licensing limbo

21-Jul-2005

by John Harrington Trade leaders are still predicting thousands of pubs won't hit the deadline for grandfather rights despite a recent surge in...

Sky charges need revision

21-Jul-2005

The poet Thomas Stearns Eliot once described April as the cruellest month 'mixing memory with desire. If he had decided to open a pub rather than...

Licensing applications flooding in says LACORS

20-Jul-2005

Applications for the new licences are now going into local authorities by the "barrel load", with growing numbers of pubs being granted extended...

Uproar as Sky fees jump 12%

14-Jul-2005

by Graham Ridout Licensees have reacted angrily to the news that Sky subscription rates are to rise 12% more than four times the rate of inflation....

Young blasts licensing costs

14-Jul-2005

Young's chairman John Young attacked the cost of licensing reform at this week's AGM. Young hit out at the 'hysterical stories about 24-hour pubs and...

Licensing reform costs top £120m

07-Jul-2005

BBPA says each licence costs an average of £2,000 by Ewan Turney The cost of implementing the new licensing regime is likely to cost the industry...

Police campaign 'taints image of city nightlife'

07-Jul-2005

by John Harrington Ultimate Leisure boss Bob Senior has criticised a police campaign entitled 'the party's over for tarnishing the image of the...

Sale delay won't scupper licence

07-Jul-2005

I had a very interesting discussion with a local licensee last week. He asked me about his own situation with regard to his personal licence. It...

1,000 pubs join cheap Sky claims TV supplier

07-Jul-2005

by John Harrington One thousand pubs could be receiving illegal screenings of Premiership football from just one equipment supplier for as little as...

Legal advice: Without prejudice?

06-Jul-2005

Off-the-record discussions to settle employment disputes may well come back to haunt employers.By Martin Donoghue of thePublican.com's team of legal...

Licensing: it's time to act

30-Jun-2005

The PMA Team, Deputy Editor Licensing minister James Purnell does not pull his punches on what lies ahead for licensees and local authorities. 'I'm...

Lack of licence applications may close four in ten pubs

30-Jun-2005

As many as four in 10 pubs could face closure in November for failing to apply for their new licences in time.Local authority workers and licensing...

Trade leaders question alcohol-related crime

30-Jun-2005

by Tony Halstead Trade leaders have poured scorn on new police figures that claim alcohol-fuelled violence linked to pubs has soared 15% in a year....

Who holds the licence?

30-Jun-2005

QWe are a small operating company with a number of houses in a limited area. We now find that the local police have objected to us making application...

Police warn host over 'discriminatory' sign

30-Jun-2005

by Tony Halstead A licensee has found himself embroiled in a race row after putting up a sign banning travellers from his pub. The Gypsy Council...

Hosts told to pay Sky £8,265.72

30-Jun-2005

Satellite broadcaster Sky has won a case against licensees who showed sport at their pub on their domestic contract. Sky staff noticed that the Sky...

Francis Patton joins licensing fees panel

30-Jun-2005

Punch's customer services director Francis Patton has been appointed to the panel that will examine the new licensing fees. The Independent Review...

Police hunt cars after pub shooting

23-Jun-2005

Police are looking for two cars after a shooting at a Shropshire pub. A shot was fired at the King's Head in High Street, Wellington, at around...

Trade message to Sky: 'please show restraint'

23-Jun-2005

by Ewan Turney Licensees and pubcos have urged Sky to show restraint when it unveils new subscription rates later this year. For many licensees,...

Day two: judge warns of licensing 'chaos'

16-Jun-2005

Pubs could be plunged into further chaos under the new Licensing Act, a High Court judge has warned.The warning came during the second day of the...

Danger zones

14-Jun-2005

Despite criticism from all sides of the pub trade, the government's plans to levy a tax on pubs in 'alcohol disorder zones' have taken a step closer...