Criminal Offences Under the Licensing Act 2003

TV Edwards can provide you with expert advice on Criminal Offences under the Licensing Act 2003.

The process was smooth, TV Edwards communicated with me well and I am pleased with the outcome.

Representative – Ji Chicken

If you own, operate or work within licensed premises, it’s very important that you understand your rights, responsibilities, obligations and liabilities under the Licensing Act. Failure to comply with the conditions of your licence or a failure to promote the licensing objectives can result in a licence being revoked, but it can in some circumstances result in a criminal prosecution.

Part seven of the Licensing Act 2003 sets out the criminal offences that can be prosecuted through the courts by the Police or the licensing authority. Some of those offences are set out below.

Section 136 – unauthorised licensable activities

Section 137 – exposing alcohol for unauthorised sales

Section 138 – keeping alcohol on the premises for unauthorised sales

Section 140 – allowing disorderly conduct on licenced premises

Section 141 – sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk

Section 145 – prohibition of unaccompanied children from certain premises

Section 146 – sale of alcohol to children

Section 147 – allowing the sale of alcohol to children

Section 147A – persistently selling alcohol to children

Section 149 – purchase of alcohol by or on behalf of children

Section 150 – consumption of alcohol by children

Section 151 – delivering alcohol to children

Section 153 – prohibition of unsupervised sales by children

Many of these offences are punishable by way of unlimited fines.

How we can help with Criminal Offences under the Licensing act

TV Edwards’ criminal and regulatory team are recognised experts on defending criminal prosecutions and have successfully defended prosecution of almost every type. If you simply wanted advice on your own liabilities in law or if you were unfortunate enough to face a prosecution, you could not be in better hands.

Led by our Managing Partner Julian Overton, our Licensing team is known for working to the very highest standards. We deliver expert solutions with professionalism, clarity, respect and care. We are open, approachable and easy to communicate with. 

The Licensing team are trained and experienced litigators, advocates and members of the Institute of Licensing.

Recent criminal prosecutions

Our client faced a near 12-month long investigation into an occasion in which it was alleged that he supplied or had exposed for supply, alcohol without a licence. TV Edwards’ Licensing team were able to successfully persuade the local authority that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute and as a result, the investigation ceased, and no prosecution was brought.

Fees for our Licensing Services

Every case is different, and our fees will vary depending on the complexity of the case, the amount of time we think it will take to prepare and the seniority of the lawyers engaged. Further information on our Licensing fees can be found here. Contact us today for a no obligation estimate of our fees in your case.