5.—(1) The Secretary of State may grant a licence to—
(a)any person to deal with a tier 1 substance;
(b)a member of the general public to deal with a tier 2 substance.
(2) The Secretary of State may restrict the licence to one or more of the activities mentioned in regulation 3(3) or 4(3), as the case may be.
(3) The term for which a licence is granted must not exceed 3 years, but this does not affect—
(a)a person's right to apply for a further licence to take effect on expiry of that term; or
(b)any power of the Secretary of State to amend, vary, suspend or revoke that licence before expiry of that term.
(4) A licence may be granted subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified in the licence.
(5) Before granting or amending a licence, the Secretary of State must consult the Chief Constable.
(6) In deciding whether to grant or amend a licence, the Secretary of State must have regard to all the circumstances of the case, including in particular—
(a)the intended use of the substance;
(b)the availability of alternative substances that would achieve the same purpose;
(c)the proposed arrangements to ensure that the substance is kept securely;
(d)any danger to public safety or public order that may be caused by the applicant dealing with the substance; and
(e)whether the applicant is a fit and proper person to deal with the substance (and, in the case of an application by an organisation, whether the responsible person is a fit and proper person to be responsible for the substance).
(7) But if there are reasonable grounds for doubting the legitimacy of the intended use of a substance or the intentions of the user to use it for a legitimate purpose, the Secretary of State must refuse the application so far as it relates to that substance.
(8) A licence must—
(a)be in a form approved by the Secretary of State; and
(b)include a record of transactions for completion in accordance with regulations 12(7) and 13(3).
(9) The Secretary of State may amend, vary, suspend or revoke any licence.
(10) Where the Secretary of State makes a relevant decision, the Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable after the decision is made, send a notice to the affected person—
(a)giving a brief description of the reason for the decision, unless it is not in the public interest to do so; and
(b)informing the affected person of the right under regulation 7 to ask the Secretary of State to reconsider the decision.
(11) In this regulation—
“affected person” means the applicant or, for a decision to vary, suspend or revoke a licence, the licence holder; and
“relevant decision” means a decision to—
refuse an application for a licence;
grant an application for a licence subject to any terms or conditions;
refuse an application to amend a licence;
grant an application to amend a licence subject to any terms or conditions; or
vary, suspend or revoke a licence.