The Home Office has announced it will not abolish the system of personal licenses following a consultation last year. Alcohol sales will therefore still need to be authorised by an accredited personal licence holder who has also undergone a criminal records check.
The Home Office had suggested as part of its consultation that the system is not targeted as "all premises, from the riskiest to the quietest, must comply with it", and abolishing it could save some businesses significant costs.
However the consultation responses largely disagreed; 72% of non-trade and 90% of trade responses did not think that the proposal would reduce burdens in terms of time and or money on business. Over 90% of all responses thought the proposal would also undermine the licensing objectives.
At the time of the consultation, Alcohol Research UK said it was concerned that the proposal would remove key safeguards. They said there was no evidence to suggest that abolishing statutory training or criminal record checks would have any significant benefits. The consultation however said it "has listened to the views received in response to the consultation and in discussion with partners has decided not to proceed".
In fact a number of responses suggested further strengthening of the existing system. The conclusion section of the document states:
During the consultation on deregulation and discussions with partners, a number of suggestions were made to further develop and tighten the existing system, rather than to deregulate it...The Government has no immediate plans to take these forward at this time. However, it will maintain an on-going, open dialogue with its partners and ensure that any proposed changes to alcohol licensing continue to strike a balance between removing unnecessary bureaucracy for responsible businesses but maintaining important safeguards.
The Government is currently consulting on whether to relax licensing hours nationally during the FIFA World Cup 2014.
Home Office licensing guidance can be accessed here, including revised guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.
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