Licensing

A Personal Licence holder can authorise the sale of alcohol in any premises with a Premises Licence which is licensed for the sale of alcohol. It is a portable licence in England and Wales. A licence is valid for 10 years, unless surrendered or declared suspended or forfeit by the courts. Once granted, Medway Council remains the relevant licensing authority, even though the individual may move out of the area or take employment elsewhere.

Fee

The licence costs £37.

Age

The applicant must be aged 18 or over.

Qualifications

New applicants must obtain the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders, an accredited licensing qualification required by the government. The British Institute of Inn Keepers (www.biiab.org) runs regular courses throughout England and Wales. An applicant must submit their certificate with their completed application. The original is returned to the applicant once the council starts to process the application.

Photographs

The council requires two photographs of the applicant. They must meet the following criteria:

• taken against a light background, so that the applicant's features are distinguishable and contrast against the background;
• sized 45 mm x 35 mm;
• showing the applicant's full face, uncovered, without sunglasses, without a hat or other head-covering unless the applicant wears a head-covering due to their religious beliefs;
• endorsed with a statement verifying the likeness of the photograph to the applicant by a solicitor, notary, a person of standing in the community or any individual with a professional qualification but not a family member.

Criminal check for new applicants

A basic disclosure check from Disclosure Scotland should be completed no more than one month prior to making the application. You can contact Disclosure Scotland on 0870 609 6006 or www.disclosurescotland.co.uk. Alternatively you can write to:

Disclosure Scotland
PO Box 250
Glasgow G51 1YU

Relevant offences

Applicants with unspent criminal convictions for relevant offences set out in the Licensing Act 2003 (the Act) are encouraged to discuss their intended application with the police before making an application.

The holder of licence is required by the Act to notify the relevant licensing authority of any convictions for relevant offences. Failure to do so is an offence. The court is similarly required to inform the licensing authority of such convictions, whether or not they have ordered the suspension or forfeiture of the licence.

Please select the link at the top of this page for more information on relevant offences.

Application forms

An application form can be obtained from the council either by visiting the reception desk at the address below or by requesting one by post. To download a form, please visit

www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/alcohol_and_entertainment/3189.aspx.

Council staff must be able to read the form easily. If areas of the form are left blank or items omitted, the form will be returned to the applicant as an invalid application.

Hearings

Where an applicant is found to have a relevant or foreign offence and the police object to the application on the grounds of crime prevention, the applicant is entitled to a hearing before the council.

Refusal of an application will be the normal course of action, unless, in the opinion of the Licensing Committee, exceptional and compelling circumstances justify the granting of the application. Applicants will be given all the reasons for any decision that is made.

Appeals

If an application is refused for any reason, the applicant will be entitled to appeal against the decision at a magistrate's court. Similarly, if the application is granted despite a police representation, the chief officer of police is entitled to appeal against the council’s decision.

Notification of change of name or address

The holder of the licence is required by the Act to notify the relevant licensing authority of all changes of name or address. Failure to do so is an offence.

Renewals

The renewal of the licence provides an opportunity to ensure that all convictions for Relevant Offences have been properly notified to the relevant licensing authority, that nothing has been missed and that all such convictions have been properly endorsed upon the licence. It also provides an opportunity to ensure that the photograph on the licence is updated to aid identification.

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