Have received the following reply:-
Chief Executive's
Legal and Administrative Services
Director of Legal and Administrative Services:
Mark Webster, LLB
Town Hall    SHEFFIELD   S1 2HH

Tel:          0114 273 4264
Fax:          0114 273 5410

Our Ref:        LIC/241/SJL
Date:                19th May 2004

Mr J.McDonald
212a Cricket Inn Road
SHEFFIELD
S2 5AT

Dear Sir,

Public Entertainment – Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 and the Licensing Act 2003

Thank you for your letter sent by email to Mr Mothersole, Executive Director, Development, Environment and Leisure on the 17th May 2004, in relation to the enforcement and licensing of "Public Entertainment".

The licensing of "Public Entertainment" is carried out by my Licensing General Section, which is based in the Chief Executives Directorate. The Council has a statutory role with regard to the administration and enforcement of many licensing systems under several pieces of legislation.

The licensing of Public Entertainment is currently governed by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, Part 1, Schedule 1, (the 1982 Act). My Licensing General Section work regularly at night and at weekends enforcing this and other legislation, the staff have an excellent working partnership with licensees and I think it is fair to say that they have also built a reputation of being honest and fair with potential and / or current licensees.

It was during a normal routine enforcement exercise that we visited the premises concerned (Palm Tree Public House). It is during routine enforcement; or by seeing advertisements in the local press and / or by receiving complaints that staff become aware of unlicensed premises. We have spoken / written to many unlicensed premises in recent weeks from which we have received several applications for licences.

Many Local Authorities do not warn premises / licensees that they are committing an offence and often place matters directly before court. I take a different view, where there is a need for a licence my staff explain the need to the appropriate person. This was done in this case. The landlord of the premises was informed of the requirement; the landlord was asked to consider whether he wished to apply for a licence and informed that failure to have an appropriate licence could lead to prosecution.

For your information it is an offence under the 1982 Act to provide entertainment without a licence [para 12 (1)] for which any person found guilty of an offence shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.   

The current legislation is likely to remain in place for at least another fifteen months and possibly longer. The Council has a statutory duty to continue to enforce the provisions of the legislation.

Therefore, we must continue to deal with all premises on an equal basis and treat them in a fair and consistent manner, this would not be the case if we ignored other premises carrying out unlicensed activity or waited for new legislation to come in to force.

The legislation deals with safety and amenity and there continues to be cases that affect public safety and the Council regularly receive complaints relating to noise nuisance.

The current legislation like the new Licensing Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) is designed to promote public safety and to prevent public nuisance and it is for this reason that my Licensing General Section continue to enforce the legislation.

The 2003 Act has received Royal Assent but the relevant guidance and regulations still need to be approved by Parliament. It is expected that the guidance and regulations will be released in June / July this year. The Government has promised local authorities a six month period following the release of the guidance and regulations to draft and consult on its "Statement of Licensing Policy".

This would suggest that the first appointed day would be the 1st January 2005 followed by a transitional period of eight months to allow all current licences to be transferred to the new Licensing regime. This would suggest that the second appointed day and the commencement of the new legislation would be 1st September 2005.

It is worth noting that the Local Authority must continue to administer the existing legislation until the second appointed day. This means that all current licensees must continue to renew their licences until this date, pay the appropriate fee; and comply with relevant conditions or face prosecution.

Currently the licensees of many other premises across the city that wish to provide public entertainment continue to apply to my Licensing General Section for the grant of a licence. I must state that fees charged are to recover costs and external auditors to the Council have checked its level of fees in the past. The Council does not levy fees to supplement its funds. The Council recovers its costs so there is no additional burden on the ratepayers of the City.

I hope that the above answers all your questions and if you have any further queries in relation to any of the above then do not hesitate to contact my Chief Licensing Officer, Mr Lonnia, who is dealing with this matter.

Yours sincerely



Mark Webster
Director of Legal & Administrative Services

As you can see from above there is no movement at all in fact it seems like they are digging in their heels. The fight goes on.
Jim