Business and Planning Act 2020
From 22 July 2020 the Business and Planning Act 2020 has temporarily modified the Licensing Act 2003 in order to provide for an automatic extension to the terms of most premises licences which only permit the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises to allow for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises.
The new off-sales permission will permit off-sales to be made at a time when the licensed premises are open for the purposes of selling alcohol for consumption on the premises, subject to a cut off time of 11pm or the closure time of an existing outside area, whichever is earlier. Measures also temporarily suspend existing licence conditions in so far as they are inconsistent with the new off-sales permission.
Conditions on existing dual premises licences (permitting both on-sales and off-sales) that would prevent one or more of the following are also suspended under the temporary off-sales permission:
- off-sales being made at a time when the premises are open for the purposes of selling alcohol for consumption on the premises (subject to a cut off time of 11pm or the closure time of an existing outdoor area, whichever is earlier;
- off-sales being sold in an open container; and,
- deliveries to buildings used for residential or work purposes.
The following premises are not affected:
- premises licensed after 22 July 2020
- premises licensed for off-sales only, such as shops and supermarkets
- private members' clubs who hold a club premises certificate
The permission and any conditions attached to it are temporary. The permission is due to lapse on 31st March 2025, unless otherwise suspended, removed or varied.
You are not required to change either your licence or your summary to show that you are taking advantage of the permission, however you must prepare "a section 172F statement" and details of what is required to be included in this can be found within the Government guidance issued for this matter. An example copy can be found here.
The section 172F statement must be kept on the premises or under the control of the holder of the licence or a person who works at the premises who has been nominated by the holder of the licence for this purpose. A copy of the section 172F statement must be prominently displayed at the premises alongside the summary of your premises licence.
The Government advise that if you want to start using this permission then you should notify the council as your licensing authority. Please notify us by email to [email protected] stating the name of the premises, when you wish to start selling alcohol as off-sales, and any measures that you intend to implement to prevent the activity from causing a nuisance.