The Licensing Act 2003 (Persistent Selling of Alcohol to Children) (Prescribed Form of Closure Notice) Regulations 2012

Statutory Instruments

2012 No. 963

Criminal Law, England And Wales

Licences And Licensing, England And Wales

The Licensing Act 2003 (Persistent Selling of Alcohol to Children) (Prescribed Form of Closure Notice) Regulations 2012

Made

24th March 2012

Laid before Parliament

30th March 2012

Coming into force

25th April 2012

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 169A(3) of the Licensing Act 2003(1), makes the following Regulations.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Licensing Act 2003 (Persistent Selling of Alcohol to Children) (Prescribed Form of Closure Notice) Regulations 2012 and come into force on 25th April 2012.

Revocation

2.  The Licensing Act 2003 (Persistent Selling of Alcohol to Children) (Prescribed Form of Closure Notice) Regulations 2007(2) are revoked.

Prescribed form

3.  A closure notice given pursuant to section 169A of the Licensing Act 2003 (Closure notice for persistently selling alcohol to children) is to be in the form set out in the Schedule.

Lord Henley

Minister of State

Home Office

24th March 2012

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke the Licensing Act 2003 (Persistent Selling of Alcohol to Children) (Prescribed Form of Closure Notice) Regulations 2007 and prescribe the form of a closure notice given under section 169A of the Licensing Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) to give effect to certain amendments made to that Act by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

A closure notice represents an alternative to prosecution under section 147A of the 2003 Act for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children. The offence may be committed by the holder of a premises licence if on 2 or more occasions within 3 consecutive months alcohol is sold unlawfully to an individual aged under 18 on the premises to which the licence relates.

Previously, the effect of a closure notice was that alcohol sales at the licensed premises to which it relates could be prohibited for a period of up to 48 hours. Following the amendment to the 2003 Act, a closure notice may prohibit alcohol sales from the premises to which it relates for a period of between 48 and 336 hours.

These Regulations prescribe the form of a closure notice which contains reference to the period for which premises may be prohibited from making sales of alcohol in accordance with the amendment to the 2003 Act.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on businesses, charities, voluntary bodies or the public sector is foreseen.

(1)

2003 c.17. Section 169A(2)(a) and (4) (which make further provision relevant to the contents of a closure notice) were amended by section 118(1) and (3) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c. 13).

(2)

S.I. 2007/1183.