Jan 12
26
Free APLH Course Book
Personal Licence Training Limited have
up-date their APLH course handbook for 2012 and have kindly given us access to a free copy of their old NCPLH course handbook (2010) in PDF format for you to download free of charge. This qualification title has now changed to the Award for Personal Licence Holders, but the NCPLH course book can still be used as a useful tool if studying for the APLH qualification.
Anyone looking to book a personal alcohol licence training course can now book online at over 120 course locations nationwide. You have a choice of a APLH certificate only training course or if you prefer Personal Licence Training Ltd can process your full Personal Licence on your behalf including your CRB check, completing all documentation and endorsing your photographs. To find a APLH course location near you click book online below, select the option you require, Silver or Gold. On the next screen enter your post code to find your nearest training venue.
Happy Downloading
Posted in News by .
A revised ‘Live Music Bill’ has passed through Commons on Friday 20 January, promising to amend alcohol licensing law for small music venues. Provided it passes through the final consideration of amendments, the enacted bill will allow smaller music venues with a capacity of 200 or less to host live music without the need to amend the premises licence or apply for a temporary events licence. UK Music magazine has reached with enthusiasm to the bill’s progress through Commons: “This is a great day for music. The Live Music Bill will make a real and positive difference to lives of musicians”.
The responses:
The ‘live music bill’ was introduced as a private members’ bill by Tim Clement-Jones in the House of Lords and has been represented by Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster in the House of Commons. Its successful passage through Commons has provoked a positive response from council spokespersons and live music media.
The Culture, Tourism and Sport Board of the Local Government Association have immediately declared their support: “The Live Music Bill does a good job in streamlining the process while leaving councils with enough ways to protect residents who may be adversely affected.” Music magazines, including UK Music and NME, have heavily publicised the bill, celebrating the implications for small music venues. Prior to the bill, the NME magazine had launched a campaign to try and raise awareness of the plight of smaller music venues, and reacted favourably this week.
http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/61599
The background:
Since the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003, designed to streamline and simplify licensing, small live music venues have struggled to adapt to both the cost of a premises licence covering live music and the licence application process. Alcohollicence.org covered many of these developments in 2011. A popular Peterborough music venue, Club Revolution, closed in April 2011 after owners “took their eyes off the ball” and failed to renew their premises licence with Peterborough City Council.
http://www.alcohollicence.org/music-venue-failed-to-renew-its-licence/
In February 2011, the Music Industries Association pledged to back the campaign to support live music, but questioned whether the government’s ‘Big Society’ initiative will take the issue seriously.
http://www.alcohollicence.org/will-the-big-society-support-live-music/
The impact on licensing regulations on live music is just one aspect to a broader issue, as licensing restrictions apply to drama, dance, film and indoor sport. In recent months, a number of smaller live music and theatre venues have been forced to close, including Liverpool’s Masque Theatre, Leicester’s Charlotte and Sheffield’s Boardwalk.
Confusion over legislation is by no means a solely British dilemma. It was announced this week that the organisers of Heatwave Festival, held at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, have failed to obtain a liquor licence for the event.
The law:
With the full implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 in 2005, former additional licences (such as entertainment licences) relating to licensed premises became part of a single, streamlined premises licence. A premises licence enables on or more ‘licensable activities’ to be conducted on the premises. Without a premises licence, these licensable activities cannot be conducted lawfully on the premises. The provision of regulated entertainment, which includes plays, indoor sporting events, the performance of live music and the playing of recorded music, is one such licensable activity. If the pattern of licensable activities changes within a premises (due to, for example, the introduction of live music), a change of use application must be filed with the local licensing authority with regards to the premises licence, and an operating schedule must be drawn up by the Designated Premises Supervisor.
Further information and advice regarding the premises licence can be found on the Personal Licence Training Ltd website: http://www.personallicence.com/services
We at alcohol licence tend get lot of web searches for the term personal licence and personal license spelt with an s. So we have asked our friends at Personal Licence Training Limited to try and explain the confusion surrounding the spelling of the word ‘license’.
A personal licence or personal license? Whichever way it is spelt, it will allow you sell alcohol in England, Wales and Scotland. It is easy to get confused about when to write licence and when license. Which spelling you choose depends on whether you are using the word as a noun or a verb, and whether you are following British usage or not. Spell the word with c in British English when using it as a noun, as in driving licence, off-licence, poetic licence. When using it as verb, you should spell it with an s, as in licensed premises. Other varieties of English often follow this rule, except United States English, where the -s- is much more common in both the noun and the verb.
Do not confuse licence with license. Licence is a noun which means ‘a permit to do something’ (a driving licence), whereas license is a verb meaning ‘give a permit to someone; allow something’ (the loggers are licensed to cut mahogany trees). In American English, both the noun and the verb are spelled license.
This confusion is so similar to practice and practise that once you’ve learned the difference for one, you will instantly know it for the other!
Licence is a noun, License is a verb. Before learning to drive, you must apply for a provisional driving licence, but the DVLA must license you to drive.
When you apply to a Licensing Authority for a Personal Licence, your local Licensing Authority will license you to sell alcohol. Simples!
We hope the above English lesson helps with any confusion!
So a Personal Licence is what you require if you are looking to sell or authorise the sell of alcohol from licensed premises. There are currently two types of personal licence: one for alcohol sales in England & Wales and one for Scotland.
If you require a personal licence to sell alcohol then you are on the right website. Simply click below to book a course online or find a training location near you.
Click here to choose a Licence for England & Wales
or
To legally sell alcohol in the UK you need a personal licence. To apply for a personal licence you need a personal licence certificate. To be exact you need a SCPLH (Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders) to sell alcohol in Scotland, and an APLH (Award for Personal Licence Holders) to sell alcohol in the rest of the UK. The APLH was known as the NCPLH (National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders) until April 2011.
The certificates are open to all candidates who are preparing to work, or who are already working, in licensed retail, who seek employment or self-employment supervising premises with Premises Licences that authorise the sale or supply of alcohol, and other licensable activities. The aims of this personal licence certificate is to enable candidates to develop:
- an understanding of the system of licensing and control in respect of licensed premises and licensable activities
- an understanding of the legal and social roles and responsibilities of Personal Licence Holders
- a knowledge of the minimum legislation requirements and basic operating procedures in licensed premises
- an understanding of the licensing objectives and of the Personal Licence Holders’ legal and social responsibilities in respect of the responsible use of alcohol, reducing crime and disorder and preventing drug use and drug dealing and the protection of children
Posted in Alcohol Licence Law APLH NCPLH Personal Licence Scottish Licensing Law SCPLH by .
There are a number of steps to follow in order to attain a personal licence to sell alcohol:
1: Complete a training programme and achieve a licensing qualification (APLH or SCPLH)
2: Apply for a CRB check
3: Submit a personal licence application, CRB Basic Disclosure form, APLH certificate and fee to your local licensing authority
4: Your personal licence application will then be either granted or refused by local licensing authority. A granted personal licence is then valid for ten years.
UK Licensing Qualifications:
There are currently two relevant licensing qualifications within the UK:
- Award for Personal Licence Holders (APLH) Level 2 (England & Wales)
- Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (SCPLH) Level 5 (Scotland)
The Award for Personal Licence Holders (APLH), formerly known as the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH), is a mandatory qualification in England and Wales for personal licence holders. Under the Licensing Act 2003, an individual wishing to apply for a personal licence must first complete this award. You can find your local training venue for APLH training courses using this training link.
The Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (SCPLH) is the Scottish equivalent of the APLH, and is a mandatory qualification in Scotland for personal licence holders and applicants. You can find your local training venue for SCPLH training courses using this training link.
Licensing Authorities:
Your local licensing authority, usually your local council, is responsible for receiving your personal licence application, and for either granting or refusing the application. You can find your local licensing authority using this Directgov link.
Why do I need a Personal Licence?
Under the Licensing Act 2003, every sale or supply of alcohol taking place within a licensed premises must be made or supervised by a personal licence holder (Licensing Act 2003, 19.3). Additionally, the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) named on the premises licence must be a personal licence holder. You can find out more about how to become a DPS using this article link.
The editors of AlcoholLicence.org would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year! Our thoughts go out to all of you in the hospitality trade who will be working over the festive season, to make Christmas merrier for the rest of us.
We would like this opportunity to thank all of our readers, and especially all of those of you who added comments. We hope we managed to answer all of your inquiries….
Thanks also to Personal Licence Training Limited for their support and help with the more difficult and involved legal questions. Good luck with your new site guys!
Posted in Announcements News by .
Dec 11
20
New Personal Licence Website
PLTOnline Limited (a subsidiary of Personal Licence Training Ltd) is to launch a new website in the new year. PersonalLicence.com will bring Personal Licence Training into the 21st Century, and will include online course booking for training venues throughout the UK. It will also keep you updated with the latest personal licence legislation. In the coming months online courses for the whole of the leisure and hospitality industry will also be available.
For those who don’t know our sponsors; Personal Licence Training Limited, offer many other hospitality trade services, including helping you with your premises licence application, and offer courses such as food hygiene, health and safety, and designated premises supervisor training.
Posted in News Personal Licence Premises Licence Premises Licence Application by .
Nov 11
29
Fake Driving Licence Warning
Retailers of alcohol are urged to be vigilant over the Christmas period. With an increasing number of fake identification cards available via the internet, Personal Licence Training Limited have issued a warning to all retail premises selling alcohol or other age restricted products. The warning comes after staff at the licence training company became aware of a new form of identification cards hitting the market, known as ”Fake UK Driving Licence templates”. The makers of the novelty ID cards/templates claim the following on their website: “Our templates are painstakingly designed to be a flawless UK licence. Laminate hologram overlay are exact. UV ink looks perfect under UV light and your details are encoded and will scan correctly same as a real licence.”
Makers of these type of identification cards/templates claim that they are producing novelty ID cards that should not be used to obtain age restricted products, however Personal Licence Training Ltd warns that, in the wrong hands, the novelty cards can be used in attempting to purchase alcoholic products. PLT urge retailers to take a look at this website, as unauthorised sales to under-18s could lead to loss of licence: http://uk-id.com/uktemplate.html
To avoid accepting these types of ID cards take a look at our article on spotting fake ID.
Posted in Announcements fake ID News Responsible Alcohol Retailing Stories by .
“What training do I need to sell alcohol?” is a question we are asked on a regular basis. To sell alcohol in England, Wales and Scotland, you will need to undertake a basic training course on alcohol licensing law. There are two licensing courses on the market at the moment: one for England and Wales known as the Award for Personal Licence Holders (APLH) Level 2, and one for Scotland known as the Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (SCPLH) Level 5. Generally, training courses are held over one day, although some local colleges will run them over two days. Most independent training providers tend to run one day training courses for these licensing qualifications.
Once you have achieved your licensing qualification, you can then apply to your local council’s licensing authority, or licensing board in Scotland, for your personal alcohol licence. For more information, please see our article on applying for your personal licence to sell alcohol. Many independent training providers do offer a full licence processing service, however cost may vary so be careful of hidden costs!
The average price for a certificate only training course and course handbook is around £150 – £165 + VAT.
The cost of processing a full licence is around £295 – £340 including VAT, all fees, training and course material.
Should a licensee employ more than one personal licence holder? According to guidance recommended by the Department of Culture Media and Sport, this is an operational decision for the premises licence holder. Holders of the premises licence may wish to have more than one personal licence holder, in case a new DPS has to be appointed at short notice, and to allow greater flexibility in fulfilling the requirement that every alcohol sale to be made or authorised by a personal licence holder (Licensing Act 2003, 19.3). On a day-to-day basis, proficient numbers of fully trained staff can help avoid unauthorised sales of alcohol from licensed retail premises.
Retailers need to be aware of these kinds of responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003. This is quite simple! Licencee responsibilities are encapsulated within the four licensing objectives within the premises licence, for instance, the protection of children from harm. This means it is the Licensee or owners duty to ensure this licensing objective is promoted to avoid any under-age sales taking place from licensed premises. With Christmas approaching fast, retailers need to be aware of the liklihood of increased police and trading standards test purchase operations over the festive season.
The aim of Personal Licence Training is to ensure licence holders are aware of licensing law and the wider social responsibilities attached to the sale of alcohol. Some licensees may therefore consider it appropriate to have more than one personal licence holder in order to promote one or more of the four licensing objectives. It should be stressed, however, that a personal licence is not a qualification that is associated with business competency and other forms of training should be considered alongside the personal licence.
Personal Licence Training Limited have launched a short course designed for members of staff which covers the following key areas.
- Responsibilities & duties of staff
- Responsibilities to the DPS and owner
- Understanding the Licensing Objectives
- Challenge policy
- Acceptable identification and what to look for
- Fake identification and how to spot it
- Age restricted products including alcohol
- Unauthorised sales
- Fines under the Licensing Act 2003
- Police and Trading Standards powers
- Criminal prosecutions
- Effects on the premises licence
This type of course is designed to assist retailers in the promotion of the licensing objectives. Additionally, increasing the number of personal licence holders on licensed premises is highly recommended.
For more information on personal licence training courses or responsible alcohol retailing courses, please contact Personal Licence Training Limited on Tel: 01527 544 780
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