THE LAW RELATING TO CHILDREN IN PUBLIC HOUSES
The Licensing Act 2003 updates the law relating to children in pubs. The new law aims at closing the loopholes and inadequacies of previous legislation, while allowing under-18s access into licensed premises in a safe, family-friendly way.
The legal drinking age remains 18 years of age. The only exception is that 16- and 17-year-olds can drink beer, wine or cider with a table meal while being accompanied by an adult (a person aged 18 or over).
Under the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offence to:
Allow children under 16 on relevant premises that are used exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol, if they are not accompanied by an adult (and the premises are open for the sale of alcohol).Allow an unaccompanied child under 16 to be on relevant premises between the hours of midnight and 5am, when the premises are open for the supply and consumption of alcohol. Other offences under the Licensing Act 2003 include: Purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol for consumption by a child (with the exception of purchasing beer, wine or cider as part of a table meal).Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by a child. The prohibitions on unaccompanied children aged under 16 also extend to beer gardens and outside terraces, and not just the bar area.
Where a publican is found to have committed an offence of selling alcohol to children, they may have a defence if they believed that the purchaser was 18 or over and they took all reasonable steps to establish the purchaser's age, or that nobody could reasonably have suspected from the purchaser's appearance that they were under 18. A second defence would be where the purchaser looked exceptionally old for his age.
A reliable proof of age card can make the job of checking a young customer's age easier. The Government supports the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme), which approves and accredits proof of age schemes in the UK. It is backed by major retailers and representatives of the licensed trade and its continued promotion and development is encouraged.
Temporary events notices
Temporary events notices (TENs) can be used for the temporary sale or supply of alcohol, provision of regulated entertainment or the provision of late night refreshment, at premises which are not authorised by a premises licence. The licensing authority and the police must be notified of the event at least 10 working days before the event, and the following conditions apply:
A personal licence holder may use a TEN up to 50 times per year.The number of times a TEN can be given in respect of particular premises is 12 times per calendar year.The length of time a TEN may last is 96 hours.The maximum aggregate duration of the periods covered by TENs at any individual premises is 15 days. The scale of the event in terms of the maximum number of people attending at any one time is 499.