Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Licensing Act 2003 (Premises licences and club premises certificates) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/42) (“the 2005 Regulations”).

The purpose of the amendments is to ensure that the 2005 Regulations are compatible with Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (“the Directive”).

The Directive requires that all procedures and formalities concerning access to, or the exercise of, a service activity may be completed at a distance by electronic means, through a single point of contact and with the relevant competent authorities. The single point of contact in the United Kingdom is the Electronic Assistance Facility (“EAF”) referred to in regulation 38 of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2999). The relevant competent authorities as regards the Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17) (“the 2003 Act”) are licensing authorities.

Regulations 4 and 5 of these Regulations substitute a new regulation 21, and insert new regulations 21A and 21B into the 2005 Regulations. The effect of these amendments is to enable an application or notice (and any accompanying plan or other document) given to a licensing authority under Part 3 or Part 4 of the 2003 Act to be given “in writing” by means of a “relevant electronic facility”. (Such a facility is defined in the amendment made by regulation 3(a) to mean the EAF, or any facility established and maintained by a licensing authority for the purpose of receiving applications, notices or representations electronically).

Applications or notices so given are to be regarded as given when the information comprising them becomes accessible to the recipient by means of the facility or, if a fee is payable, at the time the payment is received.

An application for review under section 51 or 87 of the 2003 Act, or representations (and any accompanying plan or document) can be given “in writing” if the information comprising it or them satisfies the conditions in the new regulation 21B(1)(a) to (c). The application or representations are to be taken as given when the requirements of regulation 21B(1)(a) and (b) are met, or (if applicable) the appropriate fee is paid. Reviews and representations are treated separately from other processes under the 2003 Act, as they are not normally initiated by the service provider.

Regulation 6 replaces the existing requirement that plans submitted with applications for premises licences or club premises certificates be drawn in the standard scale unless the licensing authority agrees in writing to an alternative scale. The new paragraph (2) in regulation 23 of the 2005 Regulations provides that the plan must be clear and legible in all material respects. The definition of “standard scale” is accordingly omitted from regulation 2(1) of those Regulations.

To ensure compatibility with the Directive’s requirement for a single point of contact, new regulations 27 and 27A (introduced by regulation 8) provide that where certain applications are made by means of a relevant electronic facility, the licensing authority (rather than the applicant) must give notice of the application to each of the “responsible authorities” as defined in Part 3 or 4 of the 2003 Act. For applications made by other means, and in the case of reviews, the applicant must give the required notice.

For applications of which notice is required to be given to the police (but not the other responsible authorities), regulation 28 of the 2005 regulations is amended so that the licensing authority, rather than the applicant, is required to give the notice in cases where the application is submitted by means of a relevant electronic facility.

Regulation 10 inserts a new regulation 39B into the 2005 Regulations, which provides that certain notices given (by a licensing authority) in connection with applications made through a relevant electronic facility must themselves be given through that facility.

An impact assessment in respect of the Directive is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum to the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 and is available alongside that instrument on the OPSI website (www.opsi.gov.uk). A separate impact assessment has been produced in respect of these Regulations, and is available alongside them on that website.