General guidance
In these notes, a person who gives a temporary event notice is called a “premises user”.
The police and local authority exercising environmental health functions may intervene on the grounds of any of the four licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm) to prevent the occurrence of an event at which permitted temporary activities are to take place or to agree a modification of the arrangements for such an event. However, the licensing authority will intervene of its own volition in the cases described below.
First, it will issue a counter notice if there is an objection to a late temporary event notice (see note 8 below).
Secondly, it may issue a notice in relation to its decision to impose conditions on a temporary event notice (see note 2 below).
Thirdly, it will issue a counter notice if the first, second, third and fifth of the limits set out below would be exceeded. If any of the limits below are breached or if a counter notice has been issued, any licensable activities taking place would be unauthorised and the premises user would be liable to prosecution. The limitations apply to:
- the number of times a person may give a temporary event notice (50 times per year for a personal licence holder and 5 times per year for other people);
- the number of times a person may give a late temporary event notice (10 times per year for a personal licence holder and 2 times per year for other people);
- the number of times a temporary event notice may be given in respect of any particular premises (15 times or, for event, occurring wholly or partly in 2022 or 2023, 20 times a calendar year);
- the length of time a temporary event may last for these purposes (168 hours or 7 days);
- the maximum aggregate duration of the periods covered by temporary event notices at any individual premises (21 days per calendar year); and
- the scale of the event in terms of the maximum number of people attending at any one time (a maximum of 499).
For the purposes of determining the overall limits of 50 temporary event notices per personal licence holder (in a calendar year) and of 5 for a non-personal licence holder (in a calendar year), temporary event notices given by an associate or a person who is in business with a premises user (and that business involves carrying on licensable activities) count towards those totals. The limits applying to late temporary event notices are included within the overall limits applying to the total number of temporary event notices. Note 16 below sets out the definition of an “associate”.
When permitted temporary activities take place, a premises user must ensure that either:
- a copy of the temporary event notice is prominently displayed at the premises; or
- the temporary event notice is kept at the premises either in his own custody or in the custody of a person present and working at the premises and whom he has nominated for that purpose.
Where the temporary event notice is in the custody of a nominated person, a notice specifying that fact and the position held by that person must be displayed prominently at the premises.
Where the temporary event notice or a notice specifying the nominated person is not displayed, a constable or an authorised person (for example, a licensing officer, fire officer or environmental health officer) may require the premises user to produce the temporary event notice for examination. Similarly, where the nominated person has the temporary event notice in his custody, a constable or authorised person may require that person to produce it for examination. Failure to produce the temporary event notice without reasonable excuse would be an offence.
It should also be noted that the following, among other things, are offences under the Licensing Act 2003:
- the sale or supply of alcohol to children under 18 years of age (subject to an unlimited fine on conviction);
- allowing the sale of alcohol to children under 18 ( subject to an unlimited fine on conviction);
- knowingly allowing the consumption of alcohol on the premises by a person aged under 18 (subject to an unlimited fine, on conviction );
- allowing disorderly behaviour on the premises (subject to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, on conviction);
- the sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk (subject to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, on conviction);
- obtaining alcohol for a person who is drunk (subject to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, on conviction);
- knowingly allowing a person aged under 18 to make any sale or supply of alcohol unless the sale or supply has been specifically approved by the premises user or any individual aged 18 or over who has been authorised for this purpose by the premises user (subject to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale, on conviction); and
- knowingly keeping or allowing to be kept on the premises any smuggled goods which have been imported without payment of duty or which have otherwise been unlawfully imported (subject to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, on conviction).
In addition, where the premises are to be used primarily or exclusively for the sale or supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises, it is an offence to allow children under 16 to be present when the premises are open for that purpose unless they are accompanied by an adult. In the case of any premises at which sales or supplies of alcohol are taking place at all, it is an offence for a child under 16 to be present there between the hours of midnight and 5am unless accompanied by an adult. In both instances, the penalty on conviction is a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000.
