APLH - Award for Personal Licence Holders Unauthorised Licensable Activities Questions and Answers Flashcards

A community group organises a ticketed event in a village hall, selling wine and beer to raise funds. They do not hold a premises licence and have not obtained a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). What is the potential maximum penalty for this offence?

Answer: An unlimited fine and/or up to 6 months imprisonment.

Under Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003, carrying on a licensable activity (such as the sale of alcohol) without an appropriate authorisation is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is an unlimited fine, up to 6 months in prison, or both.

Which of the following scenarios constitutes carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity?

Answer: A pub with a premises licence sells alcohol one hour after its permitted hours have ended.

Carrying on a licensable activity otherwise than in accordance with an authorisation is an offence under Section 136. A premises licence authorises activities within specific hours; selling alcohol outside of these hours means the activity is not in accordance with the authorisation and is therefore an offence.

The owner of a takeaway that does not have a premises licence for late night refreshment decides to sell hot food to customers at 1:00 am. What specific offence under the Licensing Act 2003 have they committed?

Answer: Unauthorised carrying on of a licensable activity.

The provision of hot food or hot drink to the public between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am is a licensable activity known as 'late night refreshment'. Carrying this on without a premises licence or a TEN is an offence under Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003.

A personal licence holder is working at a pub when its premises licence is suspended by the Licensing Authority. The personal licence holder decides to sell alcohol anyway, believing their own licence permits it. Which statement is correct?

Answer: They are committing the offence of carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity.

A personal licence authorises an individual to sell alcohol, but only from a premises that has a valid premises licence or other authorisation. If the premises licence is suspended, any sale of alcohol from that premises is an unauthorised licensable activity. The person making the sale is committing an offence under Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Under the Licensing Act 2003, which of the following could be a valid legal defence for a person charged with carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity under section 136(1)(a)?

Answer: They took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the offence.

The Licensing Act 2003 provides a statutory defence of 'due diligence'. If the person charged can prove that the offence was due to a mistake, reliance on information given to them, the act of another person, or another cause beyond their control, AND that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence, they may have a valid defence.

A shop displays bottles of spirits for sale on its shelves with price tags, but its premises licence only permits the sale of alcohol until 10:00 pm. A customer attempts to buy a bottle at 10:30 pm but is refused by the staff. Which offence has still been committed?

Answer: Exposing alcohol for unauthorised sale.

Under Section 137 of the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offence to expose alcohol for sale by retail in circumstances where the sale would be an unauthorised licensable activity. By displaying the priced alcohol after the permitted hours, the shop is committing this offence, regardless of whether a sale is actually completed.