Under the Licensing Act 2003 ("the Act"), the supply of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment and the provision of late night refreshment can all be carried on under one authorisation.
For the purposes of the Act, the provision of late night refreshment means
Food or drink is "hot", for the purposes of the Act,
The Act provides for a number of supplies to be exempt supplies, which will not constitute the provision of late night refreshment. Examples are the provision of hot drink by vending machines, in certain circumstances,
Including late night take-aways and fast-food outlets, in the Act, extends the licensing regime, which already operates in most of London, to all of England and Wales.
The Government feels this is necessary to protect local residents because premises, which serve late night refreshment, can be used by customers, who may have been drinking at other premises earlier in the evening, thereby creating the potential for disorder, on and near the premises. It is also possible that with large numbers of customers, who may gather at places serving late night refreshments, there is a potential for nuisance and disturbance for local residents.
The regulation of late night refreshment will tackle these issues and allow residents and other interested parties, and responsible authorities, to make representations about new licences, and seek reviews of existing licences, where they are concerned that the licensing objectives will be, or have been, affected.
It is also anticipated that the provisions will help drive up standards, within the late night hospitality sector, and encourage greater diversification of the evening economy.
Yes. There will be no equivalent of special hours certificates, under the new licensing regime. A restaurant owner will need to apply for a premises licence to replace the existing permission from the magistrates. This will allow a premise to provide, or continue to provide, alcohol with meals, and, depending on their preferred hours of opening, to provide hot food or hot drink between 11pm and 5am. It will cost no more to include, in an application for a premises licence to authorise the supply of alcohol, an application for the premises licence to authorise, also, the provision of late night refreshment. Existing licence holders may be in a position to apply to convert the authorisations, under their existing licences, to a new premises licence during the transitional period.
The following miscellaneous supplies of hot food or hot drink are exempt:
Supplies of hot food or hot drink are also exempt where the supply is on or from premises to which, at the time of the supply, only persons of the following descriptions will be admitted and supplied with hot food or hot drink:
Supplies of hot food or hot drink on or from premises already licensed under certain other Acts – for example, those used as "near beer" premises in London, where certain descriptions of non-alcoholic beverages are sold, are also exempt.
No. Clubs' premises certificates do not need to authorise the provision of late night refreshment by the club to members of the club, and their guests. This is because the supply of hot food or hot drink, to members and guests of recognised clubs, are exempt in the circumstances described above. To qualify as a recognised club, a club must satisfy the following conditions:
All qualifying clubs will be recognised clubs.
For more information, please see the relevant pages on Qualifying Clubs.
No. Refreshment made available to employees of a particular employer, between 11pm and 5am, are exempt from the need to obtain an authorisation for late night refreshment, in the circumstances described above.
Yes. The Act is going to regulate licensing laws across England and Wales, which means that late night take-aways and cafes outside London will now need an authorisation to serve hot food or drink to the public, on or from the premises, between 11pm and 5am.
Yes. If a supermarket is heating food or drink for consumption, whether on or off the premises, between 11pm and 5am, or provides facilities to enable the food or drink to be heated, a late night refreshment licence will be required. However, if a supermarket is selling only cold food and drink, and not providing facilities to enable the food or drink to be heated on the premises, then a licence authorising the provision of late night refreshment will not be required.
Vending machines supplying hot drinks are exempt, so long as the payment for the drink is inserted into the machine by a member of the public, and the hot drink is supplied to a member of the public directly by the machine.